Trifluoroacetic acid is a chemical compound that is a very strong carboxylic acid. When compared to acetic acid, it is 100,000-fold more acidic and therefore widely used in organic chemistry. Many of the biggest discoveries in organic chemistry owe part of the praise to trifluoroacetic acid since some discoveries would not be possible without it.



Trifluoroacetic acid, or TFA, is used frequently in organic synthesis because of the combination of properties it has, including its volatility, solubility in organic solvents and its strength as an acid. There is one problem with TFA and that is it forms into an azeotrope with water when it hits 105 degrees Celsius.

To create TFA, Halocarbon uses electrofluorination of acetic acid. This anodic reaction of a mixture of hydrogen fluoride and acetic acid causes the separation of fluorine. This reaction also helps keep the carboxylic group intact, which is important to the overall process.

Trifluorethanol, or TFE, is an organic compound that is colourless and has a smell that is described as being close to ethanol. TFE is produced by hydrogenation by Halocarbon, which is the process of hydride reduction of derivatives of TFAC, acid chloride.

The TFE that is created through Halocarbon is used as a solvent in organic chemistry, much like TFA. In biology, TFE is used as a co-solvent in protein folding studies because it can effectively stabilize peptides and proteins, including the three-dimensional structure of the proteins.

On the industrial side, TFE is used as a solvent for nylon as well as in the pharmaceutical field.

Thanks to the hard work of Halocarbon, TFE and TFA have been sold across the world It can be expected that going into the future, TFE and TFA, along with Halocarbon, will have a bright future as the applications they can be used in increase with a growing understanding of these amazing fluorochemicals.

Sebastian Schneider is a freelance writer who writes about issues and topics pertaining to the use of Trifluorethanol.