Experimental investigation of the reaction of HCFC-22 and methane in a dielectric barrier discharge non-equilibrium plasma

A dielectric barrier discharge non-equilibrium plasma was employed to study the reaction of HCFC-22 (CHClF 2 ) with methane (in an argon bath gas) at atmospheric pressure and in the absence of oxygen and nitrogen. The reaction produced a fluorine-containing polymeric product, as well as gaseous species including H 2 , HF, HCl, CHF 3 , C 2 H 3 F, CH 3 Cl, CH 2 ClF, C 2 HClF 4 , CHCl 2 F, CH 2 Cl 2 and CCl 2 F 2 . While the main polymeric fraction is non-crosslinked, a small portion of the solid product is crosslinked. The polymers contain a wide range of functional g roups including CH 3 , CH 2 , CHCl, CHF, CHClF, CHF 2 , CF 2 and CF 3 . The conversion level of CHClF 2 increased from 53% to 78%, with an increment in input energy density from 3 kJ L -1 to 13 kJ L -1 . A reaction mechanism is proposed explaining the formation of gaseous as well as polymeric products.