Radiation telomerization of tetrafluoroethylene in butyl chloride solution

Abstract

The kinetics of the radiation-initiated polymerization of tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) in butyl chloride has been studied. The rate of the process, the properties and yield of telomers obtained depend on the initial concentration of TFE (2.6–22 wt %) in the solution and the dose of γ-irradiation. The analysis of the measured IR absorption spectra and a possible scheme of the process allow to suggest that the main product of the reaction is C4H8Cl(C2F4)n−1CF2CF2H with the formation of small amounts of C4H9(C2F4)n−1CF2CF2H and Cl(C2F4)n−1CF2CF2H. The average number of links in the telomer (n) increases from 7.6 to 16.1 when the concentration of the monomer in the solution varies in the range of 7–22 wt %. The length of the chain of the soluble telomers (n) does not depend on the initial concentration of TFE and makes ∼7.