Dispersion of Polyethylene Glycol in Perfluorodecalin for Liquid Phase Fluorination

Abstract

This work aims to obtain the dispersions based on polyethylene glycols (PEGs) of various molecular masses (MM) and perfluorodecalin (PFD) for subsequent direct fluorination. The solubility of the components was estimated using laser interferometry and differential scanning calorimetry, and it was shown that PEGs with different MM are not highly compatible with PFD. The dispersions were prepared during sonication. Gel permeation chromatography (GPC) analysis indicated that MMs almost did not change in this process. While the sonication of PEG-PFD, there is a formation of dispersion with the particle sizes distribution in a range of 0.4‒2 μm depending on the MM of PEG. The dispersion is metastable for several hours, even though its stability was significantly affected by additional bubbling with the gas flow. Moreover, the dispersions with a solid PEG phase (MM > 600 Da) were subjected to a smaller change compared to a liquid one (MM < 600 Da). The results of this research shed light on the applicability of the ultrasonic preparation of PEGs in PFD for liquid-phase fluorination with obtaining perfluorinated polyether of target MM.