The team of chemists from the University of Oxford in the UK has produced fluoride for the first time without using hazardous gases. This new approach, published in the latest issue of Science, may have a huge impact on global industrial security and reducing carbon footprint.

Fluorides are important chemicals with wide applications, including polymers, agricultural chemicals, pharmaceuticals, as well as lithium-ion batteries in smartphones and electric vehicles. Currently, all fluorides are generated through highly energy intensive processes from the toxic and corrosive gas hydrogen fluoride. Despite strict safety regulations, hydrogen fluoride leaks have occurred multiple times in the past few decades, sometimes leading to fatal accidents.

In order to develop a safer method, the research team drew inspiration from the natural biomineralization process that forms teeth and bones. Usually, hydrogen fluoride itself is produced by a crystalline mineral called fluorite reacting with sulfuric acid under harsh conditions, which is then used to manufacture fluorinated compounds. In the new method, fluoride is directly made from fluorite, completely bypassing hydrogen fluoride.

Solid fluorite is activated by the process of biomineralization, which mimics the way calcium phosphate minerals are biologically formed in teeth and bones. The team used a mechanochemical process to grind fluorite and powdered potassium phosphate in a ball mill for several hours. The resulting powdered product can directly synthesize over 50 different fluorides from fluorite.