Properties of commercial fluoropolymers

This appendix contains extensive chemical resistance data for a number of commercial fluoropolymers. Most of the chemicals are frequently encountered in processing operations. The data for each fluo-ropolymer are organized alphabetically, using the common name of each chemical. The reader should review the next section (Sec. V.2) to understand the basis for the PDL Rating. Exposure conditions for each chemical have been listed because the same chemical could behave in a different way if the conditions of exposure (such as temperature or concentration) are altered. Where data have been available, the effect of exposure on the physical properties such as weight change and tensile properties have been listed. 

The present chapter covers information published by resin manufacturers about the commercially available grades of melt processible fluoropolymers. The first two polymers are perfiuorinated resins, followed by partially fluorinated polymers ethylene-tetrafiuoro-ethylene and ethylene chlorotrifiuoroethylene, andpoly-vinylidene fluoride and polyvinylfiuoride, and finally concluding with fluoroplastics polymerized in supercritical carbon dioxide. Commercially available resins have been classified by type, grade, and manufacturer. Properties of commercial grades have been presented in this chapter based on the literature published by the manufacturers. 

Monomers for commercially important large-volume fluoropolymers and their basic properties are shown in Table 1.1. These can be combined to yield homopolymers, copolymers, and terpolymers. The resulting resins range from rigid resins to elastomers with unique properties not achievable by any other polymeric materials. Details about the basic chemistry and polymerization methods are included in Chapter 2, fundamental properties of the resulting products are discussed in Chapter 3, and processing and applications in Chapter 4. 

Fluoropolymers of different types are commercially available as coating resins [96]. Methods to fabricate perfluorinated coatings and films to impart the desirable properties of perfluorocarbons where they are most needed, without the disadvantages of handling and applying bulk perfluorinated materials are described in the literature [97]. 

In the addition to homo-PVF2, a large number of copolymers have also been synthesized which allow to optimize the mechanical properties of fluoropolymers. Most common are copolymers with vinyl fluoride, trifluoroethylene, tetrafluoroethylene, hexafiuoropropy-lene, hexafluoroisobutylene, chlorotrifluoroethylene, and pentafiuoro-propene [521,535, 559-562]. Copolymerization with nonfluorinated monomers is possible [563] in principle but has not yet found commercial use. Fluorocarbon monomers that can help to retain or enhance the desirable thermal, chemical, and mechanical properties of the vinylidene structure are more interesting comonomers. Copolymerization with hexafluoropropylene, pentafluoropropylene, and chlorotrifluoroethylene results in elastomeric copolymers [564]. The polymerization conditions are similar to those of homopoly(vinylidene fluoride) [564]. The copolymers have been well characterized by x-ray analysis [535], DSC measurements [565], and NMR spectroscopy [565,566]. 

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