Fluorochemicals

• Scientists from the University of Oxford have come up with a new way to obtain fluorine atoms, in a much safer and less energy-intensive way.

TRADITIONAL METHOD

• Fluorine is a highly reactive element used to make fluorochemicals, which in turn are used to produce plastics, agrochemicals, lithium-ion batteries, and drugs.
• Fluorine comes from a calcium salt called calcium fluoride, or fluorspar.
• Fluorspar is mined and then treated with sulphuric acid at a high temperature to release hydrogen fluoride (HF).
• HF is then made to react with other compounds to create fluorochemicals.

DISADVANTAGES

• HF is an extremely poisonous and corrosive liquid that irritates the eyes and respiratory tract even at low concentrations.
• It also requires special transportation and storage requirements.

NEW METHOD

• Researchers ground the fluorspar in a ball-mill with potassium phosphate.
• While fluorine is very reactive, calcium atoms prefer phosphorus even more, so the milling created calcium phosphate and another compound with fluorine atoms. They called the latter Fluoromix.
• When Fluoromix was reacted with organic compounds, it could create around 50 fluorochemicals with up to 98% yield.
• The researchers took inspiration from how the human body makes bones and teeth: through calcium phosphate biomineralisation.