Main-Product

Product: Tetrafluoroethylene

Product Categories, Description and Properties

Segment

Chemicals

Main-Family

Unsaturated Monomers

Sub-Family

Functional monomers

Description

Tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) is a chemical compound with the formula C₂F₄. It belongs to the family of fluorocarbons and is the simplest perfluorinated alkene. Tetrafluoroethylene is a colorless, odorless gas. Like all unsaturated fluorocarbons it is susceptible to nucleophilic attack. It is unstable towards decomposition to C and CF₄ and prone to form explosive peroxides in contact with air.

TFE is manufactured from chloroform. Chloroform is fluorinated by reaction with hydrogen fluoride to produce chlorodifluoromethane (R-22). Pyrolysis of chlorodifluoromethane (at 550-750 °C) yields TFE, with difluorocarbene as an intermediate.

CHCl₃ + 2 HF → CHClF₂ + 2 HCl

2 CHClF₂ → C₂F₄ + 2 HCl

TFE is used primarily in the industrial preparation of polymers. Polymerization of tetrafluoroethylene produces polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) polymers such as Teflon and Fluon.

Source: Infogalactic, Tetrafluoroethylene.

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