Fluorination

Definition

Fluorination is the chemical process of adding the element fluorine into a molecule. Fluorine has atomic number 9 and is in group 17, the halogens. Fluorination is a kind of halogenation.

Applications

• Fluorinating a surface or applying a fluorinated coating lowers the surface energy and makes the surface more hydrophobic. Desbief et. al. [reference] discuss this idea in terms of polymer coatings, "introduction of fluorine atoms substantially reduces the surface energy of the polymer film."

• Many companies make fluorinated plastic containers which are less permeable than simple HDPE containers.

http://www.thecarycompany.com/containers/plastic_bottles/fluorination.html http://www.novapak.com/news/Articles/Fluorination.asp

References

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halogenation

[2] http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fluorination