Simple method converts fluorspar into fluorochemicals

A safer and more sustainable way of producing fluorination reagents directly from the mineral fluorspar could help the chemical industry overcome its reliance on hydrogen fluoride ( Nature 2024, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-08125-1 ). “Hydrogen fluoride is probably one of the most dangerous chemicals that you can manufacture,” says Véronique Gouverneur of the University of Oxford, who led the research. “The ambition is to transform the way fluorochemicals are produced.” Fluorochemicals are widely used in products such as pharmaceuticals, refrigerants, and lithium-ion batteries, and all their fluorine atoms originate from fluorspar, the mineral form of calcium fluoride . The chemical industry treats fluorspar with concentrated sulfuric acid at temperatures above 300 °C to produce hydrogen fluoride (HF), which serves as the feedstock for other fluorinating reagents. But making HF is energy intensive, and the chemical is highly toxic and difficult to handle —leaks have caused fatal accidents and environmental pollution incidents ,