Development of vulcanizable elastomers suitable for use in contact with liquid oxygen

For the past few years our research has been concerned with the preparation of polymers which are compatible with and have usable mechanical properties in the presence of liquid oxygen. These are stringent requirements and the need for oxidative stability necessitated investigation of halogen-containing polymers, in particular, polymers containing fluorine. Since only a few fluorocarbon monomers are commercially available, this study required an extensive synthesis program. A comprehensive search of the literature and an attempt to systematically study the effect of polymer structure on low-temperature properties directed our initial work toward the synthesis of some novel, highly fluorinated vinyl monomers and polymers. In this article the effect of structure on polymer glass transition temperatures will be discussed and the synthesis and characterization of some fluorocarbon vinyl ethers and their polymers will be described.