Polytetrafluoroethylene monomers

Prop-1-en-2-yl) phenyl] prop-2-yl isocyanate monomer, polytetrafluoroethylene polymers... 

Fluorinated polymers, especially polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and copolymers of tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) with hexafluoropropylene (HFP) and perfluorinated alkyl vinyl ethers (PFAVE) as well as other fluorine-containing polymers are well known as materials with unique inertness. However, fluorinated polymers with functional groups are of much more interest because they combine the merits of pefluorinated materials and functional polymers (the terms functional monomer/ polymer will be used in this chapter to mean monomer/polymer containing functional groups, respectively). Such materials can be used, e.g., as ion exchange membranes for chlorine-alkali and fuel cells, gas separation membranes, solid polymeric superacid catalysts and polymeric reagents for various organic reactions, and chemical sensors. Of course, fully fluorinated materials are exceptionally inert, but at the same time are the most complicated to produce. 

Fluorocarbon elastomers represent the largest group of fluoroelastomers. They have carbon-to-carbon linkages in the polymer backbone and a varied amount of fluorine in the molecule. In general, they may consist of several types of monomers poly-vinylidene fluoride (VDF), hexafluoropropylene (HFP), trifluorochloroethylene (CTFE), polytetrafluoroethylene (TFE), perfluoromethylvinyl ether (PMVE), ethylene or propylene.212 Other types may contain other comonomers, e.g., 1,2,3,3,3-pentafluropropylene instead of HFP.213 Fluorocarbon elastomers exhibit good chemical and thermal stability and good resistance to oxidation. 

Tetrafluoroethylene (TFE), also known as perfluoroethylene, is a colorless, flammable, toxic gas. It is the monomer used for polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), which is sold under the DuPont tradename of Teflon. TFE is co-polymerized with other compounds to produce a variety of Teflons. TFE is produced by heating chlorodifluoromethane (CHC1F2, Freon-22) or trifluoromethane (CldF3, Freon-23). TFE is used almost exclusively as a monomer in the production of PTFE. PTFE is a vinyl polymer, which means it is made from a monomer with carbon-carbon double bonds. PTFE is made from TFE by free radical polymerization. 

Several graft copolymerizations were described by Ballantine (17, 64), Henglein (104, 105) and coworkers. Different monomer-polymer systems were examined styrene on polymethyl methacrylate, poly-2, 5-dichlorostyrene, polytetrafluoroethylene, polyethylene, polypropylene and polyisobutylene, acrylonitrile on polyethylene, rubber, polymethyl methacrylate and dimethyl polysiloxane, vinylpyrrolidone and acroleine on polymethyl methacrylate. The results agree with the preceding ones moreover they show the influence of the swelling and diffusion of the monomer into the polymer. 

The vacuum pyrolysis of thin samples of polytetrafluoroethylene follows first-order kinetics with monomer as the major decomposition product in the temperature range from 360—510° C (Siegle, Muus, and Lin). The rate constant does not depend on either the molecular weight or the type of polymer and is characterized by an activation enthalpy of 83.0 kcal/mole and a frequency factor of 3 x 1019 sec-1. The melt viscosity decreases during pyrolysis. 

The structure of polyvinylidene fluoride chain, namely, alternating CH2 and CF2 groups, has an effect on its properties which combine some of the best performance characteristics of both polyethylene (-CH2-CH2-)n and polytetrafluoroethylene (-CF2-CF2-)n. Certain commercial grades of PVDF are copolymers of VDF with small amounts (typically less than 6%) of other fluorinated monomers, such as HFP, CTFE, and TFE. These exhibit somewhat different properties than the homopolymer. 

Random chain cleavage followed by chain unzipping is characterized by high monomer yields and a slow decrease in the molecular weight of the polymer, for example, exhibited by PMMA, poly(a-methyl styrene), polystyrene polytetrafluoroethylene. 

Preparation of Permselective Membranes by Radiation Grafting of Hydrophilic Monomers into Polytetrafluoroethylene Films... 

The family of FPs, also called fluorocarbon plastics, is based on polymers made of monomers composed of fluorine and carbon may also include chlorine atoms in their structure. Specific types include polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polytetrafluoroethylene-cohexafluoro-propylene or fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP), polytrafluoroethylene-coperfluoropropylvinyl ether (PFA), ethylenetetrafluoroethylene (ETFE). polychlorotrifluoroethylene (PCTFE), ethylene-chlorotri-fluoroethylene (ECTFE), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polyvinyl fluoride (PVF), perfluoromethylvinylether (PFMV), perfluoroalkoxy (PFA), etc. 

Perfluoroalkylvinyl ethers form an important class of monomers in that they are used as comonomers for the modihcation of the properties of homofluoropolymers in addition to their broad nse in copolymers with TFE and other monomers. They are capable of snppressing the crystallization of PTFE efficiently, which imparts usefnl mechanical properties to lower molecular weight of polytetrafluoroethylene polymers. Copolymers of PAVEs and tetrafluoroethylene are thermally stable as PTEE homopolymers. Commercially significant monomers are perfluoropropylvinyl ether and perflnoromethylvinyl ether (PMVE), used for the production of a variety of perflnoroalkoxy resins. 

Tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) A perfluorinated monomer used as a feedstock for the production of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and as a comonomer for the production of a variety of other fluoropolymers. 

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