Fluoropolymers alkane

Arguments similar to those stated above can be used to explain the relative chemical inertness of fluoropolymers. Consider the reactivity of alkanes vs. perfluoroalkanes as shown in Table 4.2 (abstracted from Sheppard and Sharts Statistically, FA based materials will have many more types of bonds, in addition to C—F, than fluoropolymers. These bonds will be subject to the same chemical fate during assault by aggressive reagents as bonds in their hydrocarbon counterparts. Similar reasoning can be used to explain the relative thermal stability of FAs compared to fluoropolymers. Thus, incorporation of perfluoroalkyl groups will not make the modified material less stable than the native one. 

Supported NAFION. In order to Increase the activity of the acid sites by achieving better dispersion, NAFION has been supported on silica gel, sillca/alumina, alumina, porous glass and Chromosorb T (fluoropolymer support). These supports can have either low or high surface area and various pore diameters (50-600A). Catalysts prepared in this fashion have been used in the alkylation of benzene, isomerization of normal alkanes and disproportionation of toluene. Table XVIII summarizes the results on the alkylation of benzene with ethene for NAFION and several supported catalysts (66-68). 

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