Tetrafluoroethylene industrial synthesis

As discussed above, the most commonly known and studied PEMs are based on nonaromatic perfluori-nated hydrocarbons such as Nation, Aciplex, Flemion, and what are termed the Dow membranes. However, their chemical synthesis is challenging due to the safety concerns of tetrafluoroethylene and the cost/ availability of the perfluoroether comonomers. These issues have relegated detailed synthetic research on polyperfluorosulfonic acid materials to the industrial sector or to a few specialized academic labs. 

Scheme 2.143 Synthesis of perfluoroalkyl iodides by the Hunsdiecker route (top), based on the electrochemical fluorination of carboxylic acid derivatives (Rp = CF3 (CF2)9CF3) and the industrial telomerization route (bottom) based on tetrafluoroethylene as the central intermediate.

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