Repurposing HFC-125 to tetrafluoroethylene: A step toward a more sustainable fluoropolymer feedstock strategy.

ABSTRACT: The urgency to reduce hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) emissions, particularly HFC-125 (pentafluoroethane, CF₃CF₂H), has driven efforts to develop sustainable alternatives. Herein, we present a method for converting HFC-125 into tetrafluoroethylene (TFE), an industrially valuable monomer for fluoropolymer production. Our approach uses potassium hexamethyldisilazide (KHMDS), optimizing reaction conditions at -50°C to achieve high TFE yields without any observable byproducts. This low-temperature method offers a safer and more sustainable alternative to traditional high-temperature processes for TFE production, which involve hazardous byproducts and complex handling. We also demonstrated that various chemical reactions using freshly generated TFE, including thiol addition, trifl

SUBMITTER: Iwasaki H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12148618 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature