The muon as a proton analogue in Fluoromix, a new fluorinating agent that bypasses HF

Industrially synthesized fluorochemicals are currently prepared by a method that involves hydrogen fluoride (HF) which is toxic and dangerous. A new method that avoids this has been recently developed. The new fluorinating agent, Fluoromix, can produce many fluorochemicals and the techniques can be extended to creating a circular fluorine economy. This muSR experiment exploits the sensitivity of the muon to fluorine nuclear moments, as well as the muon's strong affinity to stop close to electronegative fluoride ions, to reveal information about how Fluoromix works as a fluorinating agent. We will use our previously developed methods of determining the muon site by measuring the spectroscopic signature that results from quantum-mechanically entangling the muon spin with nearby fluorine nuclear moments, thereby establishing the likely location of protons interacting with Fluoromix, as well as estimating which component of Fluoromix is more active as a fluorinating agent.