Home – Home – Jornals – Chemistry for Sustainable Development 2004 number 5

Glow discharge polymerizations of fluorobenzenes, perfluoromethylbenzenes, polyfluorostyrenes, and perfluorinated benzocycloalkenes have been studied. The reactivity of these compounds depends on the number and position of fluorine atoms in the ring and on the type of substituent. High reactivity is inherent in compounds with a fluorinated vinyl group and in ortho-substituted compounds (perfluoro-o-xylene, perfluorobenzocyclobutene). The polymer products were identified by IR spectroscopy and element microanalysis. Film growth rates on metallic supports have been determined. Suggested mechanisms underlying polymerizations are discussed; these include double bond polymerization, condensation of fluoroaromatic rings via elimination of substituent, and ring cleavage that forms aliphatic segments in the polymer chain. Introduction of chlorine atoms in the starting compound decelerates polymer formation. The polymerizations are accompanied by oxidations, leading to oxygen-containing groups in the polymers. Polymerizations of oxygen-containing compounds C₆F₅OR (R = CH₃, CF₂H, CF₃) and C₆F₅C(O)CH₃ have been investigated, and film growth rates have been determined; routes of transformations of oxygen-containing substituents are suggested. For a number of polymers, hydrophobicity and thermal stability are assessed.