Organofluorine chemistry: applications, sources and sustainability

Fluorine is an essential element for life in the developed world that impacts hugely on the general public because many pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, anaesthetics, materials and air conditioning materials owe their important properties to the presence of fluorine atoms within their structures. All fluorine atoms used in organic chemistry are ultimately sourced from a mined raw material, fluorspar (CaF2), but, given current usage and global reserve estimates, there is only sufficient fluorspar available for a further 100 years. New large scale raw material sources of fluorine are available but must be sufficiently developed for the benefits of fluorinated systems to continue in the long term.