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World desk2 min

Why Two Superfluorinated Peroxides Surprised Researchers With Their Stability

A 2019 study reported unusual impact, friction and chemical resistance for two specific perfluorinated alkyl peroxides—not peroxides in general.
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Two specific perfluorinated alkyl peroxides reported in a 2019 chemistry study resisted impact and friction in the authors’ tests, despite the usual concern that peroxide bonds can be reactive. The finding is narrow: it describes bis(nonafluoro-tert-butyl) peroxide and bis(undecafluoro-2-methyl-2-butyl) peroxide, not peroxides as a class, and it is not handling advice.

What the 2019 study found

Jan H. Nissen and colleagues reported the synthesis and solid-state structures of two perfluorinated alkyl peroxides: bis(nonafluoro-tert-butyl) peroxide and bis(undecafluoro-2-methyl-2-butyl) peroxide. Their paper’s abstract says the studied compounds were insensitive to impact above 40 J and friction above 360 N, and resistant to certain mineral acids and elemental halogens. These thresholds belong to the authors’ tests of those materials; they do not establish safety for other peroxides, mixtures, quantities or conditions. Read the paper abstract on PubMed.

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Why their structures drew attention

The reported crystal structures had a COOC dihedral angle of 180° and elongated O–O bonds. The authors attributed these structural features to the bulky perfluorinated alkyl groups. This offers a structural context for the compounds’ unusual observed behavior, but the reported geometry alone should not be treated as a general rule for predicting peroxide stability.

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What the resistance tests do—and do not—show

Impact and friction

The paper reports impact sensitivity greater than 40 J and friction sensitivity greater than 360 N for the studied perfluorinated alkyl peroxides. In this context, the values describe thresholds reported by the authors under their test methods; they are not universal safe-handling limits or permission to expose the compounds to impact or friction.

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Acids, halogens and oxidation

The abstract reports resistance to mineral acids written as HX, where X is F, Cl or Br, and to elemental halogens X2. It also reports that bis(nonafluoro-tert-butyl) peroxide oxidized ferrocene. Resistance to the listed reagents does not mean the compounds are chemically inert in every setting; the ferrocene result itself demonstrates reaction behavior.

How the compounds were prepared

Nissen and colleagues prepared the peroxides from their corresponding hypofluorites and fluorinated silver wool. Chemistry World reported that this route avoided chlorine trifluoride, which it described as corrosive, poisonous and dangerously reactive. Avoiding one hazardous reagent is not a complete process-safety assessment, and the publication does not make the synthesis suitable for nonspecialist handling. Chemistry World’s account of the study.

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Could they be useful in chemistry?

Chemistry World reported that the authors suggested these strong oxidants might be useful as oxidation-resistant solvents in reactions involving such compounds. That is a proposed possibility, not an established application. The same account notes the warning that mixing them with other substances may present explosion potential. A result for a defined test or reaction cannot be extended to mixtures or scale-up without specific evidence and specialist risk assessment.

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How to read the “no fear” headline

The paper’s title begins “No Fear of Perfluorinated Peroxides,” while Chemistry World used “Superfluorinated peroxides surprise with stability.” Neither should be read as a general safety claim. The meaningful takeaway is more precise: two named compounds had surprising measured resistance under reported tests, alongside chemical properties and reaction behavior that still require careful, compound-specific interpretation. The Freie Universität Berlin research group lists the publication in its publication record.

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