Departmental Seminar by Prof. K. C. Kumara Swamy (University of Hyderabad) on "Friend or Foe? Fluorine to TEFLON Chem(H)ist(O)ry".
31 Oct 2025
Seminar Room # 350, second floor annex
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Speaker: Prof. K. C. Kumara Swamy
School of Chemistry, University of Hyderabad,
Hyderabad-500046, Telangana
Title: "Friend or Foe? Fluorine to TEFLON Chem(H)ist(O)ry".
Day and Date: Friday, October 31, 2025
Time: 16.00 Hrs.
Venue: Room no. 350, Chemistry Department
Second floor, Annex
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Hosted by Prof. Ramaswamy Murugavel
Talk Title : "Friend or Foe? Fluorine to TEFLON Chem(H)ist(O)ry".
Abstract
Fluorine is often called the ‘savage beast’ among the elements. In attempts to tame this beast, several scientists sacrificed their lives. There have been numerous innovations using
fluorine chemistry that have either benefited our society or posed as a ‘curse’ to the environment. Examples that include CaF2, F2, UF6, [18F]FDG, Fluorouracil, CFCs, PFC,Teflon, Nafion, PVDF, Gore-Tex, etc. (cf. Figure 1) with selected historical anecdotes will be presented in this talk.
