The room-temperature activation of SF6, a potent greenhouse gas, is reported using a monovalent aluminium(I) reagent to form well-defined aluminium(III) fluoride and aluminium(III) sulfide products. New reactions have been developed...

The applications, environmental issues, and methods for remediation of F-gases are reviewed.

Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are pervasive in the environment. The largest single use material within the PFAS compound class is poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE), a robust and chemically resistant polymer. Despite their widespread use and serious concerns about their role as pollutants, methods for repurposing PFAS are rare. Here we show that a nucleophilic magnesium reagent reacts with PTFE at room temperature, generating a molecular magnesium fluoride which is easily separated from the surface-modified polymer. The fluoride in turn can be used to transfer the fluorine atoms to a small array of compounds. This proofof-concept study demonstrates that the atomic fluorine content of PTFE can be harvested and reused in chemical synthesis.

The rapid, room-temperature defluorosilylation of trifluoromethane, a highly potent greenhouse gas, has been achieved using a simple silyl lithium reagent.

Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are now pervasive in the environment. The largest single use material within the PFAS compound class is poly(tetrafluoro)ethylene) (PTFE), a robust and chemically resistant polymer. Despite their widespread use and serious concerns about their role as pollutants, methods for repurposing PFAS are rare. Here we show that a nucleophilic magnesium reagent reacts with PTFE at room temperature, generating a molecular magnesium fluoride which is easily separated from the surface-modified polymer. The fluoride in turn can be used to transfer the fluorine atoms to a small array of compounds. This proof-of-concept study demonstrates that the atomic fluorine content of PTFE can be harvested and re-used in chemical synthesis.