•Nucleophilic fluorination of alkyl bromides with trace of elimination product.•Enhanced reaction rate using fluorinated bulky alcohol and crown ether.•Modulation of hydrogen bonding interaction is key for rate acceleration. A new phase transfer system for nucleophilic fluorination of alkyl halides with potassium fluoride, based on the combination of 18-crown-6 and the bulky fluorinated alcohol 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-methyl-2-propanol, was found to be very effective. A primary alkyl bromide was fluorinated in 24 h of reaction time with a mild temperature of 82 °C using acetonitrile solvent, obtaining 80% yield and only a trace of elimination product. The rational choice of this alcohol was based on a free energy profile of a reaction model including the solubilization of the KF salt and on the theoretical calculations of the stability of the KF(18-crown-6)(alcohol) complexes. The fluorinated bulky alcohol leads to a substantial increase in the concentration of KF complexed with 18-crown-6, which compensates for the decreased reactivity of the solubilized complex. The present study shows the importance of the modulation of the hydrogen bonding strength to obtain the rate acceleration effect. Display omitted