Low Temperature Fluorination of Aerosol and Condensed Phase Sol Suspensions of Hydrocarbons Utilizing Elemental Fluorine

This report outlines the development of a new method of low temperature fluorination. This method involves the reaction of gaseous elemental fuorine upon a solid-phase particulate aerosol at temperatures below room temperature. The rationale for the development of this method is that it is a flow process but preserves the low temperature, solid phase fluorination features of the low temperature gradient reactor system developed by Adcock, Marashin and Lagow while eliminating the inherent reliance on low temperature mass transport which results in long reaction times and the essentially batch nature of gradient reactor process. This report outlines in chronological fashion the systematic advances in development of Aerosol Fluorination technology. We have developed a four stage aerosol fluorination reactor which can be described as a dynamic concentration-gradient, temperature gradient reactor which achieves optimum control of the reaction between elemental fluorine and several hydrocarbon systems. Furthermore the system has shown the ability to effectively control the degree of hydrogen substitution at any level of fluorination up to and including perfluorination.