During the past fifteen years commercial interest in compounds
containing carbon- fluorine bonds has burgeoned beyond all expectations,
mainly owing to business opportunities arising from work on biologically
active fluoroorganics-particularly agrochemicals, the relentless search
for new markets for fluoropolymers and fluoro- carbon fluids,
developments in the field of medical diagnostics, and the drive to find
replacements for ozone-depleting CFCs and Halon fire-extinguishing
agents. Judging the situation to warrant the publication of a
comprehensive collection of up-to-date reviews dealing with commercial
organofluorine compounds within a single volume of manageable size (and
hence reasonable cost), we were delighted to be invited by Plenum
Publishing Corporation to produce a suitable book. In order to provide
an authentic and wide-ranging account of current commercial applications
of fluoroorganic materials, it clearly was necessary to assemble a
sizeable team of knowledgeable contributing authors selected almost
entirely from industry. Through their efforts we have been able to
produce an almost complete coverage of the modem organofluorochemicals
business in a manner designed to attract a reader- ship ranging from
experts in the field, through chemists and technologists currently
unaware of the extent of industrial involvement with fluoroorganics, to
students of applied chemistry. Promised chapters dedicated to
perfluoroolefin oxides and 18F labeling of radiopharmaceuticals failed
to materialize. This is somewhat unfortunate in view of our aim to
achieve comprehensive coverage of the subject.
