Journal of the American Chemical Society· 2025Q1
A Reductive Mechanochemical Approach Enabling Direct Upcycling of Fluoride from Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) into Fine Chemicals
- 28citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2025year
Short summary
A new mechanochemical method directly converts PTFE waste into sodium fluoride (98% yield) and elemental carbon using sodium metal at room temperature, with the fluoride then upcycled into valuable sulfonyl and acyl fluorides.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- PTFE waste is converted into elemental carbon and sodium fluoride (NaF) via mechanochemistry.
- The process uses sodium metal, operates at room temperature, and requires no organic solvents.
- Sodium fluoride is generated in 98% yield.
- The NaF is directly upcycled into valuable sulfonyl fluoride and acyl fluoride products in situ.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a highly versatile material that has found widespread application owing to its exceptionally high chemical resistance and thermal stability. However, these properties mean that PTFE disposal is an energy intensive process, producing fluorinated materials which pose serious concerns regarding toxicity and environmental persistence. Herein we report a straightforward mechanochemical approach for the reductive defluorination of PTFE generating an environmentally benign mixture of elemental carbon and sodium fluoride. The process employs cheap and readily available chunks of sodium metal, proceeding rapidly at room temperature, in the absence of any organic solvent to form sodium fluoride (NaF) in 98% yield. The fluoride generated in the process can be directly upcycled into fine chemicals through in situ mechanochemical fluorination reactions, delivering valuable sulfonyl fluoride and acyl fluoride products in excellent yields.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2025 · DOI ↗
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Field: Pharmaceutical Science
Pharmaceutical SciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics