Organic fluoropolymers

Refrigerants, Propellants, and Foam Blowing Agents R L Powell Fire Suppression Agents Mark L Robin Organic Fluoropolymers IV IV Schmiegel... 

Fire Suppression Agents Mark L Robin Organic Fluoropolymers IV W Schmiegel... 

Organic fluoropolymers have been used in many fields because they have special properties that no other polymers can provide. 

Carlson, D. P. Schmiegel, W. Organic Fluoropolymers, In Ullmann s Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, 5th Edition Gerhartz, W., Ed. Wiley-VCH Weinheim, 1988 Vol. All,p408. 

Another impetus to expansion of this field was the advent of World War 11 and the development of the atomic bomb. The desired isotope of uranium, in the form of UF was prepared by a gaseous diffusion separation process of the mixed isotopes (see Fluorine). UF is extremely reactive and required contact with inert organic materials as process seals and greases. The wartime Manhattan Project successfully developed a family of stable materials for UF service. These early materials later evolved into the current fluorochemical and fluoropolymer materials industry. A detailed description of the fluorine research performed on the Manhattan Project has been pubUshed (2). 

Materials of Construction. Glass has excellent corrosion-resistance to wet or dry bromine. Lead is very usefiil for bromine service if water is less than 70 ppm. The bromine corrosion rate increases with concentrations of water and organics. Tantalum and niobium have excellent corrosion-resistance to wet or dry bromine. Nickel has usefiil resistance for dry bromine but is rapidly attacked by wet bromine. The fluoropolymers Kynar, Halar, and Teflon are highly resistant to bromine but are somewhat permeable. The rate depends on temperature, pressure, and stmcture (density) of fluoropolymer (63). 

Fluoropolymers, Organic Vol 11 a J Fluorine Chem Vol 54 Abslracts of Papers presented at the 13th International Symposium on Ruonne Chemistry in Bochum Germany, 1991... 

Electrochemical corrosion processes also include a number of processes in organic chemistry, involving the reduction of various compounds by metals or metal amalgams. A typical example is the electrochemical carbonization of fluoropolymers mentioned on p. 316. These processes, that are often described as purely chemical reductions, can be explained relatively easily on the basis of diagrams of the anodic and cathodic polarization curves of the type shown in Fig. 5.54. 

Poor solubility in most common organic solvents represents an inherent problem in the synthesis and processing of many high molar mass fluoropolymers. In fact, CFCs and carbon dioxide are the best solvents for amorphous varieties of fluoropolymers. Due to the environmental problems associated with CFCs, the international community is seeking to replace them with more benign compounds such as hydrochlorofluorocarbons and hydrofluorocarbons. However, the environmental problems which will be created by the use of these replacement compounds such as the accumulation of trifluoroacetic acid in the atmosphere clouds this issue [71], Carbon dioxide presents an ideal inert solvent to effect the polymerization of these types of highly fluorinated monomers and obviates the use of solvents that are being phased out because of environmental concerns. 

Grafting of functional monomers onto fluoropolymers produced a wide variety of permselective membranes. Grafting of styrene (with the following sulfonation), (meth)acrylic acids, 4-vinylpyridine, A-vinylpyrrolidone onto PTFE films gave membranes for reverse omosis,32-34 ion-exchange membrane,35-39 membranes for separating water from organic solvents by pervaporation,49-42 as well as other kinds of valuable membranes. 

The direct fluorination of inorganic,1,2 organometallic,3 5 and organic compounds,6-8 employing the LaMar9,10 and Exfluor-Lagow" methods, has impacted the synthesis of fluorinated compounds over the past 25 years. Among the most important applications of direct fluorination are the synthesis of fluoropolymers from hydrocarbon polymers and the conversion of the surface of the hydrocarbon polymers to fluoropolymer surfaces.12,13 The direct fluorination process is an excellent approach to the synthesis of fluoropolymers. 

Uses Organic synthesis vapor degreasing and cold cleaning solvent for fabricated metal parts textile processing aerosol propellants synthesis of fluoropolymers production of various coatings and inks may be ingredient in adhesives, cutting oils, and aerosol formulations pesticide. 

Although to-date the emphasis has been on plasma polymerized films produced from hydrocarbon based systems, this trend in more recent times has swung towards fluorocarbons in an attempt to produce polymers of similar properties to conventionally prepared linear fluoropolymers. However, it will become clear from the account to follow that in many respects plasma polymerized fluorocarbons differ significantly from their linear counterparts. It is to the plasma polymerization of organic monomers containing solely carbon and fluorine therefore that we shall devote our attention in this section with only brief references to hydrocarbon and fluorohydrocarbon polymers for comparison purposes. 

With values in the range of about 10-18 mN m 1 perfluorinated liquids have the lowest surface tensions among the known organic liquids, and will completely wet any solid surface. Increasing amounts of hydrogen in the molecule increase the surface tension. Fluorinated solid surfaces, e.g. fluoropolymers, possess very low critical surface tensions yc, which relates to their antistick and low frictional properties, whereas hydrocarbon polymers have substantially higher values (PTFE yc = 16.0 mN m-1 PE yc = 31.0 mN m-1).7... 

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