Engineering

Polymer chemistry

Elastomer

Materials science

Refractive index

Layer (electronics)

Chemical engineering

Physical chemistry

Polymer

Nanotechnology

Copolymer

Thermoplastic elastomer

Electronics

Composite material

High-refractive-index polymer

Chemistry

Optoelectronics

Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics

This article aims at showing the usefulness of fluoropolymers (FPs), supplying an overview of their synthesis, applications, and recycling. FPs are currently prepared by conventional radical polymerization of fluoromonomers. These specialty polymers, produced in low tonnage compared to that of commodity ones, display outstanding properties, such as chemical, oxidative, and thermal resistances, low refractive index, dissipation factor, permittivity, and water absorptivity, and excellent weatherability and durability. More recent routes for their preparations are suggested, controlled or not, leading to random, alternated, block, graft, dendrimers, or multiarm copolymers, as well as their applications ranging from coatings to high performance (thermoplastic) elastomers, energy related‐materials (e.g., fuel cell membranes, components for lithium‐ion batteries, electroactive devices, and photovoltaics) to original and surfactants, optical devices, organic electronics, composites, and shape memory polymers.

The Promising Future of Fluoropolymers