ABSTRACT
Historically, fluorine is discovered by French Chemist Prof. Henri Moissan way back in 1886 by electrolysis method and became the only industrial production method. Its highest electro-negativity among all the known elements and small atomic radius give distinctive properties to many of this compounds. Fluorine is not considered as an essential mineral element for mammals and humans, in the sense of being necessary for life, however, its role in the natural and pharmacological prevention of dental caries is well established. Though fluorine was known long ago, its use in preparation of various compounds was not exploited. Due to unique properties of compounds with fluorine at an appropriate position, some of them function as refrigerant gases, fire suppressing agents, foam blowing agents and some are fluoropolymers having wide applications. This chapter deals with three important categories of fluorochemicals viz., hydrofluorocarbons, halon substitutes and fluoropolymers. Based on their molecular structure and possible atmospheric fate mechanisms, the fluorocarbons have been considered as ecofriendly molecules with negligible environmental risks. They are highly engineered chemicals to meet the technical requirements of several commercial applications.
