Investigation of fluorinated surfaces by means of radio-labelled probe molecules

Acid–base reactions and interactions are at the heart of inorganic fluorine chemistry and are now recognised as forming a very important part of the chemistry, catalytic or non-catalytic, that occurs on inorganic fluorinated surfaces. This review traces the use that has been made of radioactive isotopes, particularly the short-lived β+ emitter, fluorine-18, and the very long-lived chlorine-36, which is a β− emitter, to investigate a variety of surface-related phenomena. Attention is concentrated on solid Lewis acids, including aluminium(III) fluoride derivatives, fluorinated γ-alumina and fluorinated chromia.