Industry

Fluoropolymers Explained: Basics and Applications

Various industries, including aerospace, automotive, electronics, packaging, and medical use these unique plastics.

Fluoropolymers enhance various applications across multiple industries, including aerospace, automotive, electronics, packaging, and medical.

Fluoropolymers are fluorine-based polymers used in various industries. Fluorine gives these polymers unique characteristics, with the strong bonds formed between carbon and fluorine atoms. These bonds provide higher bond energy than carbon-hydrogen bonds, giving the polymers distinctive attributes.

You can also read: Fluoropolymers Life Cycle and PFAS Contamination

Fluorine is the Key

Perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs), characterized by their exclusive carbon-fluorine and carbon-carbon bonds, offer exceptional chemical and weather resistance. Furthermore, the small dipole moment of PFCs enhances their oil and water-repellency, low surface tension, and reduced adhesion. Consequently, these properties render fluoropolymers ideal for a wide range of applications.

Additionally, partially fluorinated polymers exhibit high dielectric constants and optical activity due to fluorine’s electron-attracting ability. This enhances acidity and lipophilicity in small molecules, making fluorine-substituted compounds suitable for pharmaceuticals.

Moreover, the strength of the C-F bond, combined with fluorine’s low polarizability and high electronegativity, endows fluoropolymers with soil resistance, insulating properties, and gas barrier capabilities. These characteristics make fluoropolymers highly versatile and valuable in multiple industries.

Main Applications for Fluoropolymers

Various industries, including aerospace, automotive, electronics, packaging, and medical, utilize these unique plastics. The following table outlines the properties and industrial applications of items made from fluoropolymers.

Chemical/Electrical/Automotive Industry

Application area	Key properties	Typical uses	Typically used fluoropolymers
Chemical/petrochemical industry	Chemical resistance Good mechanical properties Thermal stability Cryogenic properties	Gaskets, vessel liners, pumps, valve and pipe liners, tubings, coatings, expansion joints/bellows, heat exchangers	PTFE, PFA/MFA ETFE, ECTFE FEP FKM, FFKM TFE-P
Electrical/electronic industry	Low dielectric constant High volume/surface resistivity High dielectric breakdown voltage Flame resistance, Thermal stability	Wire and cable Insulation, connectors, optical fibers, printed circuit boards	FEP, PTFE, PFA, MFA ETFE, ECTFE PCTFE amorphous FP
Automotive/aircraft industry	Low coefficient of friction Good mechanical properties Cryogenic properties, Chemical resistance Low permeation properties	Seals, O-Rings, hoses in automotive power steering, transmissions, and air conditioning, bearings, sensors fuel management systems.	FKM, PTFE FFKM THV

Medical/ Coatings/Additives Industry

Application area	Key properties	Typical uses	Typically used fluoropolymers
Coatings	Thermal/weather stability Low surface energy Chemical resistance	Cookware coatings, coatings of metal surfaces, powder coatings	PTFE PVDF, ETFE FEVE, PFA
Medical	Low surface energy, stability, purity Excellent mechanical properties	Cardiovascular grafts, heart patches, ligament replacement packaging films for medical products	PTFE, PCTFE
Polymer additives	Low coefficient of friction Flame resistance Abrasion resistance Antistick properties	Polyolefin processing to avoid surface defects and for faster processing. Additives for inks, coatings, lubricants, anti-dripping agents	THV, FKM PVDF, PTFE

Energy Conversion/Textiles/ Semiconductor Industry

Application area	Key properties	Typical uses	Typically used fluoropolymers
Semiconductor industry	Chemical resistance High purity Antiadhesion, insulation, barrier properties Thermal stability	Process surfaces wafer carriers tubing, valves, pumps and fittings, storage tanks	PFA, ECTFE PCTE, PTFE amorphous FP
Energy conversion/storage Renewable energies	Chemical/thermal resistance Ion-transportation High weatherability High transparency Corrosion resistance	Binder for electrodes, separators, ion-selective membranes, gaskets, membrane-reinforcements, films for photovoltaics coatings for wind mill blades	PVDF, Fluoroionomers (PFSA), THV, ETFE ECTFE, PTFE, FEP PVF
General architectural/fabric/ film applications	Excellent weatherability Flame resistance Transparency Low surface energy Barrier properties	Coated fabrics and films for buildings/roofs, front/backside films for solar applications	ETFE, PTFE, PVDF PCTFE, PVF, THV

Table “Major properties and item-industrial applications made from fluoropolymers”. Reproduced from Fluoropolymers: The Right Material for the Right Applications- Bruno Ameduri.

Fluoropolymers are Considered PFAS

The European Chemicals Agency and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) defined PFAS as fluorinated substances that contain in their structure at least one fully fluorinated methyl or methylene carbon atom (without any H/Cl/Br/I atom attached to it).

That is, with a few noted exceptions, any chemical with at least a perfluorinated methyl group (–CF₃) or a perfluorinated methylene group (–CF₂).

As a result, PFAS can have widely varying properties, including being polymers or non-polymers; solids, liquids, or gases; persistent or non-persistent; highly reactive or inert; mobile or insoluble; and either (eco)toxic or non-toxic. Fluoropolymers, a family of high-performance plastics, contain strong carbon-fluorine (C-F) bonds. In conclusion, according to the definition, most fluoropolymers are classified as PFAS.

You can also read: Fluoropolymers are Considered PFAS

Other resources:

Fluoropolymers: The Right Material for the Right Applications, Bruno Ameduri

Perfluorinated Chemicals (PFCs): Contaminants of Concern. Nicholas P. Cheremisinoff.

By Juliana Montoya | August 8, 2024