Central Glass Company, Limited

Masahiro Kubo

Minoru Aramaki

Hisaji Nakano

Hiroyuki Kurashige

Hisazi Nakano

A fluoropolymer, e.g. polytetrafluoroethylene, is easily and efficiently converted into a lower molecular weight polymer in the form of a fine powder by subjecting the fluoropolymer to contact reaction with a gas comprising molecular fluorine or a suitable fluoride such as nitrogen trifluoride or xenon difluoride at a temperature between the melting temperature of the fluoropolymer and 600.degree. C., extracting a hot reaction gas produced by the contact reaction from the reactor and cooling the extracted reaction gas to a temperature not high than 100.degree. C. to thereby precipitate the molecular weight reduced fluoropolymer contained in the hot reaction gas as vapor.

Method of converting fluorine-containing polymer into lower molecular

In forming a coating film of a fluororesin, e.g. polytetrafluoroethylene, on a metallic or nonmetallic surface by a physical vapor deposition technique, problems attributed to the necessity of intensely heating or bombarding the fluororesin as the evaporating source or target material are solved by using a molecular weight reduced fluororesin not higher than 5000 in molecular weight. It is best to use a low molecular weight fluororesin powder obtained by heating a high molecular weight fluororesin in presence of a fluorine source and precipitating the molecular weight reduced polymer from the reaction gas.

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Ube, Japan

Masahiro Kubo