Surflon S-111 is a commercial product consisting of perfluorinated carboxylic acid

Perfluorinated carboxylic acid

Perfluorinated carboxylic acids , or perfluorocarboxylates are fully fluorinated organofluorine compounds—or perfluorinated compounds—with carboxylic acid or carboxylate functional groups. PFCAs are fluorocarbon derivatives...

s (PFCAs) in ammonium

Ammonium

The ammonium cation is a positively charged polyatomic cation with the chemical formula NH. It is formed by the protonation of ammonia...

 salt

Salt

In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...

 form. It is commonly used as a polymerization aid in the production of fluoropolymers.

The dominant chemical compound

Chemical compound

A chemical compound is a pure chemical substance consisting of two or more different chemical elements that can be separated into simpler substances by chemical reactions. Chemical compounds have a unique and defined chemical structure; they consist of a fixed ratio of atoms that are held together...

 is perfluorononanoic acid

Perfluorononanoic acid

Perfluorononanoic acid, or PFNA, is a synthetic perfluorinated carboxylic acid and fluorosurfactant that is also an environmental contaminant found in people and wildlife along with PFOS and PFOA.-Chemistry and properties:...

 (PFNA) at 74% by weight, followed by the 11 carbon perfluoroundecanoic acid (20%), and the 13 carbon perfluorotridecanoic acid (5%).

Surflon S-111 is synthesized in Japan by oxidizing a mixture of fluorotelomer

Fluorotelomer

Fluorotelomers are fluorocarbon-based oligomers, or telomers, synthesized by telomerization. Some fluorotelomers and fluorotelomer-based compounds are a source of environmentally persistent perfluorinated carboxylic acids such as PFOA and PFNA, while others are under extended...

 olefins. Fluorotelomer olefins are synthesized using a telomerization

Telomerization

Telomerization is a radical polymerization reaction where a chain transfer limits the size of the oligomer molecule product—the telomer. Telomerization requires a telogen to react with at least one unsaturated taxogen molecule. Fluorotelomers are an example.-See also:*Perfluorooctanoic acid...

 of tetrafluoroethylene

Tetrafluoroethylene

Tetrafluoroethylene is a chemical compound with the formula C2F4. It is the simplest alkene fluorocarbon. This gaseous species is used primarily in the industrial preparation of polymers.-Properties:...

 taxogens (monomers), followed by an ethylene

Ethylene

Ethylene is a gaseous organic compound with the formula . It is the simplest alkene . Because it contains a carbon-carbon double bond, ethylene is classified as an unsaturated hydrocarbon. Ethylene is widely used in industry and is also a plant hormone...

 insertion. The olefin is oxidized, removing one carbon to yield products with an odd number of carbons with even-lengthed fluorocarbon

Fluorocarbon

Fluorocarbons, sometimes referred to as perfluorocarbons or PFCs, are organofluorine compounds that contain only carbon and fluorine bonded together in strong carbon–fluorine bonds. Fluoroalkanes that contain only single bonds are more chemically and thermally stable than alkanes...

chains plus a carboxylic acid group. As the fluorotelomer olefins are dominated by F(CF₂)₈CH=CH₂, PFNA is the major PFCA product.

Surflon S-111 "is described as Fatty acids, C7-C13, perfluoro, ammonium salts".