Aquivion® PW98

Aquivion® PW98 is a coarse, acid powder based on the short-side-chain (SSC) copolymer of Tetrafluoroethylene and the Sulfonyl Fluoride Vinyl Ether (SFVE) CF2=CF-O-(CF2)2-SO2F produced by Solvay. The resulting perfluoropolymer's functional groups are in their sulfonic acid form, SO3H.

Aquivion® PW98 exhibits ionic exchange capacity and it can be used as is under conditions where conventional exchange resins have shown insufficient chemical resistance. Given the resin's superacid functionality with many active groups it can also be used either directly or as an ingredient of composite structures active as heterogeneous catalysts. This encompasses a wide range of organic syntheses and respective reaction mechanisms.

PW98 is characterized by a high degree of polymer crystallinity. It is insoluble in water, acid or bases and in most solvents unless extreme conditions are applied.
Furthermore, Aquivion® PW98 can be dissolved in some organic solvents to produce ion exchage capacity membranes. Proper organic solvents are dipolar aprotic such as N-ethyl-2-pyrrolidone (NEP) and dimethyl sulfoxide. To facilitate the dissolution, slightly increase the temperature to 50-60°C.