Perfluorinated compound

A perfluorinated compound (PFC) per- or polyfluoroalkyl chemical is an organofluorine compound containing only carbon-fluorine bonds (no C-H bonds) and C-C bonds but also other heteroatoms. PFCs, also known as perfluorinated chemicals, have properties that represent a blend of fluorocarbons (containing only C-F and C-C bonds) and the parent functionalized organic species. For example, perfluorooctanoic acid functions as a carboxylic acid but with strongly altered surfactant and hydrophobic characteristics. Fluorosurfactants are ubiquitously used in teflon, water resistant textiles and fire-fighting foam. A perfluorinated compound (PFC) per- or polyfluoroalkyl chemical is an organofluorine compound containing only carbon-fluorine bonds (no C-H bonds) and C-C bonds but also other heteroatoms. PFCs, also known as perfluorinated chemicals, have properties that represent a blend of fluorocarbons (containing only C-F and C-C bonds) and the parent functionalized organic species. For example, perfluorooctanoic acid functions as a carboxylic acid but with strongly altered surfactant and hydrophobic characteristics. Fluorosurfactants are ubiquitously used in teflon, water resistant textiles and fire-fighting foam. PFCs have properties that result from the presence of fluorocarbons (containing only C-F and C-C bonds) and the functional group. Common functional groups in PFCs are OH, CO2H, chlorine, O, and SO3H. Perfluorinated compounds are used ubiquitously: For example, fluorosurfactants are widely used in the production of teflon and related fluorinated polymers. They have been used to confer hydrophobicity, stain-resistance to fabrics and as fire-fighting foam. Fluorosurfactants powerfully reduce surface tension by concentrating at the liquid-air interface due to the lipophobicity of fluorocarbons. Chlorofluorocarbons were formerly used as refrigerants until they were implicated in ozone degradation. Fluorine-containing compounds are derived from the mineral fluorspar, which is the chemical compound CaF2. There are examples of organisms that possess fluorine-containing compounds in their biochemistry and examples where organisms can be used to synthesize fluorinated compounds, but the vast majority are man-made. The synthesis of perfluorinated compounds involves the use of F2 and HF reagents that are derived from natural product CaF2. A common industrial method for synthesizing perflurocompounds involves direct fluorination of organic compounds using F2 gas, where C-H bonds are replaced by C-F bonds accompanied by the formation of HF. Representative members of this large family of compounds are listed below. Also numerous are compounds that contain many fluoride centers but also some hydrogen, e.g., trifluoroethanol.