New amorphous perfluoro polymers: perfluorodioxolane polymers for use as plastic optical fibers and gas separation membranes

Abstract

To address the need for perfluoro polymers with higher T g , we have prepared and characterized various perfluorodioxolane monomers via direct fluorination of the hydrocarbon precursors. These monomers were readily polymerized in bulk or in solution initiated by perfluorodibenzoyl peroxide. The polymers obtained have relatively high T g (~160°C) and exhibited low material dispersion. These polymers are completely amorphous and soluble in fluorinated solvents. The polymers are also chemically and thermally stable ( T g > 300°C). Thus, these perfluorodioxolane polymers may be used as plastic optical fiber material where high T g is required, such as in automobile and aircraft application. These perfluorodioxolane polymers were also investigated for use as gas separation membrane. Among these polymers, the copolymer of perfluoro (2‐methylene‐1,3‐dioxolane) and perfluoro (2‐methylene‐4,5‐dimethyl dioxolane) showed superior gas separation performance compared with the commercial perfluoro polymers for a number of gas pair, including CO 2 /CH 4 , H e /CH 4 , H 2 /CH 4 , and N 2 /CH 4 . Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.