Perfluoropropionic acid (PFPrA) or pentafluoropropionic acid is the
perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acid with the formula CF
3CF
2CO
2H. It is a colorless liquid that is strongly acidic and soluble in water and polar organic solvents.
A convenient, safe method for generating
tetrafluoroethylene is the
pyrolysis of the
sodium salt of pentafluoropropionic acid:
[{{cite journal , doi = 10.1016/j.jfluchem.2016.10.004, title = Preparation of tetrafluoroethylene from the pyrolysis of pentafluoropropionate salts, year = 2017, last1 = Hercules, first1 = Daniel A., last2 = Parrish, first2 = Cameron A., last3 = Sayler, first3 = Todd S., last4 = Tice, first4 = Kevin T., last5 = Williams, first5 = Shane M., last6 = Lowery, first6 = Lauren E., last7 = Brady, first7 = Michael E., last8 = Coward, first8 = Robert B., last9 = Murphy, first9 = Justin A., last10 = Hey, first10 = Trevyn A., last11 = Scavuzzo, first11 = Anthony R., last12 = Rummler, first12 = Lucy M., last13 = Burns, first13 = Emory G., last14 = Matsnev, first14 = Andrej V., last15 = Fernandez, first15 = Richard E., last16 = McMillen, first16 = Colin D., last17 = Thrasher, first17 = Joseph S., journal = Journal of Fluorine Chemistry, volume = 196, pages = 107–116]
:C
2F
5CO
2Na → C
2F
4 + CO
2 + NaF
References
Perfluorocarboxylic acids