Atmospheric Lifetime of Fluorotelomer Alcohols

Abstract

Relative rate techniques were used to study the kinetics of the reactions of Cl atoms and OH radicals with a series of fluorotelomer alcohols, F(CF₂CF₂)_nCH₂CH₂OH (n = 2, 3, 4), in 700 Torr of N₂ or air, diluent at 296 ± 2K. The length of the F(CF₂CF₂)_n- group had no discernible impact on the reactivity of the molecule. For n = 2, 3, or 4, k(Cl + F(CF₂CF₂)_nCH₂CH₂OH) = (1.61 ± 0.49) × 10^-11 and k(OH + F(CF₂CF₂)_nCH₂CH₂OH) = (1.07 ± 0.22) × 10^-12 cm³ molecule^-1 s^-1. Consideration of the likely rates of other possible atmospheric loss mechanisms leads to the conclusion that the atmospheric lifetime of F(CF₂CF₂)_nCH₂CH₂OH (n ≥ 2) is determined by reaction with OH radicals and is approximately 20 d.