Perfluorinated degradation

Over the years animal studies have repeatedly shown that perfluorinated inert fluids are nonirritating to the eyes and skin and practically nontoxic by ingestion, inhalation, or intraperitoneal injection (17,22). Thermal degradation can produce toxic decomposition products including perfluoroisobutene which has a reported LC q of 0.5 ppm (6 hr exposure in rats) (31). This decomposition generally requires temperatures above 200°C. 

Organophosphate flame retardants and plasticisers Perfluorinated compounds Pharmaceuticals and personal care products Polar pesticides and their degradation/transformation products Surfactants and their metabolites... 

Ellis DA, JW Martin, AO De Silva, SA Mabury, MD Hurley, MPS Andersen, TJ Wallington (2004) Degradation of fluorotelomer alcohols a likely atmospheric source of perfluorinated carboxylic acids. Environ Sci Technol 38 3316-3321. 

In order to minimize the degradation of macromolecules, the choice of solvent is not a trivial matter. Hydrogen-containing solvents are obviously not suitable, but even halogenated ones such as CFC13 or CC12FCF2C1, usually stable to fluorine, can react violently with this element when irradiated at temperatures near 0°C. We chose two perfluorinated solvents that have been proven safe and suitable for radical fluorination perfluoro-2-(butyl)-tetrahydro-duran (FC-75 Fluorinert from 3M) and hexafluoropropylene oxide (HFPO) oligomers known as Krytox +... 

The products of perfluorination are both white, very different from the original black hydrocarbon polymers. Both materials are moisture-sensitive powders and slowly degraded by atmospheric moisture, 6 more quickly than 5. The materials oxidize iodide ion to iodine owing to the presence of the N—F moiety. A series of iodometric titrations showed that 6 required twice the number of equivalents of titrant as did 5. This result supports the proposed structures 6 having twice as many N—F moieties as 5. 

Xie, T., Hayden, C., Olson, K. and Healy, J. 2005. Chemical degradation mechanism of perfluorinated sulfonic acid ionomer. In Advances in materials for proton exchange membrane fuel cell systems, Pacific Grove, CA, Feb. 20-23, abstract 24. 

Under the agreement, companies will reduce emissions of these compounds from their facilities and consumer products by 95 per cent by 2010, and work towards eliminating the sources of PFOA by no later than 2015. Furthermore, PFOS and PFOA as well as other perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs) are stable degradation products and/or metabolites of neutral PFCs such as fluorotelomer alcohols (PFTOHs), perfluorinated sulphonamides (PFASAs) and perfluorinated sulphonamide ethanols (PFASEs) [22]. Therefore, the largest global manufacturer and supplier of fluorotelomers such as Capstone, DuPont have adapted its entire product line to utilise short-chain chemistry because short-chain molecules cannot break down to PFOA in the environment. 

Thermogravimetric studies of polymer stability in these perfluorinated systems show an onset of degradation at 407°C, which is nearly 100°C lower than with other comparable polyimides. ... 

In the presence of water this polyelectrolyte is an excellent protonic conductor, although it suffers some degradation in a working fuel cell. Probably the most successful polyelectrolytes developed so far are based on perfluorinated polymers, the first of which was Nafion , with the structure ... 

The sulfonic acid resins such as Dowex-50 and Amberlyst-15 have been used to promote the alkylation of the more active aromatic rings but attempts to increase their acidity generally resulted in the degradation of the solid. 2 The more strongly acidic perfluorinated resin sulfonic acid, Nafion-H,2>3 has, however, been used to promote the alkylation of benzene and other aromatic compounds. Nafion-H catalyzed the vapor phase reaction between toluene and methanol. When nm at 185°C a 12% yield of the isomeric xylenes was obtained with the ortho isomer the major product. 0 Methylation of phenol at 205°C over this catalyst gave, at 63% conversion. 37% anisole and 10% of a mixture of the ortho and para cresols in a 2 1 ratio. Reaction of anisole with methanol under these conditions resulted in a 14% selectivity to the methyl anisoles at 40% conversion, with the ortho and para isomers formed in nearly equal amounts. ... 

The polymer generates by thermal degradation a high yield of monomer. Other perfluorinated polyolefins are known in practice. Table 6.3.7 indicates the results of some literature reports regarding the results of thermal decomposition of several perfluorinated polyolefins. 

Initially, poly(styrenesulfonic acid) (PSSA) and sulfonated phenol-formaldehyde membranes were used for PEFCs, but the useful life of these materials was limited because of significant degradation under fuel-cell operating conditions. A critical breakthrough was achieved with the introduction of Nafion , a perfluorinated polymer with side chains... 

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