With the availability of our improved barricade facility for working safely with tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) on the kilogram scale (see Figure 1) [1], we have undertaken a number of projects in the area of TFE-based co- and ter-polymers. In the area of amorphous fluoropolymers, we have successfully synthesized 2,2,5,5-tetrafluoro-2,5-dihydrofuran and attempted its co-polymerization with TFE, hexafluoropropene (HFP), and SF5CF=CF2. The preparation and characterization of the polymers formed will be presented, including the crystal structures of several products resulting from the chemistry of this monomer. We continue to prepare sulfonimide ionomers by both the DesMarteau method as well as by the derivatization of co-polymers of TFE and perfluorosulfonyl fluoride-(PFSF)-functionalized trifluorovinyl ethers (TFVE), such as those used in Nafion® and Aquivion® [2]. The co-polymerization kinetics of TFE with these PFSF-funtionalized TFVE monomers as well as with vinylidene difluoride (VDF), chlorotrifluoroethylene (CTFE), and trifluoroethylene (TrFE) have been studied both in the presence and absence of gaseous carbon dioxide (CO2). We have also been learning how to prepare perfluoroalkoxy (PFA) resins of commercial quality, so that we might study the incorporation of a ter-monomer aimed at improving the properties of the PFA resin, such as mechanical strength and wearability. The results from these and related studies will be presented. References D. A. Hercules, D. D. DesMarteau, R. E. Fernandez, J. L. Clark, Jr., J. S. Thrasher, Evolution of Academic Barricades for the Use of Tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) in the Preparation of Fluoropolymers, in: Handbook of Fluoropolymer Science and Technology, Eds. D. W. Smith, Jr., S. T. Iacono, S. S. Iyer, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2014, Hoboken, NJ; Chapter 18. Z.-W. Yang, M. Gummalla, Y. Hosokawa, J. S. Thrasher, T. S. Sayler, A. Matsnev, R. E. Fernandez, A. Waterfeld, Method of Fabricating an Electrolyte Material, WO Patent 2014098907 A1, June 26, 2014.

Recent advances in fluoropolymer chemistry at Clemson University

251st National Meeting (2016)

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