Harvesting fluorine from fluorocarbons: Developing transfer fluorination (2025-2028)
Abstract
Methods to introduce fluorine into organic molecules are highly developed as fluorocarbons are vital to many modern technologies. Such methods rely upon the use of fluorine gas (F2), hydrogen fluoride (HF) or reagents made from F2 or HF. Concurrently, fluorocarbons generated on a megaton scale pose a unique environmental hazard. This project aims to 'harvest' the basic fluorine synthons (F-, F2, F+) from waste fluorocarbons to circumvent the need for hazardous fluorine reagents and recycle the fluorine that has already been incorporated into existing fluorocarbons. The success of this project will result in new methods for transfer fluorination and a new family of carbon-based fluorination reagents that will be readily commercializable.
