Freon
Freon
!A can of [1,1,1,2-Tetrafluoroethane (Freon 134a) used for recharging vehicle air conditioning](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/Freon134arefrigerantforcarAC001%28cropped%29.jpg/250px-Freon134arefrigerantforcarAC001%28cropped%29.jpg)
History
The first CFCs were synthesized by Frédéric Swarts in the 1890s. In the late 1920s, a research team was formed by Charles Franklin Kettering in General Motors to find a replacement for the dangerous refrigerants then in use, such as ammonia. The team was headed by Thomas Midgley Jr. In 1928, they improved the synthesis of CFCs and demonstrated their usefulness for such a purpose and their stability and nontoxicity. Kettering patented a refrigerating apparatus to use the gas; this was issued to Frigidaire, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Motors.
History
In 1930, General Motors and DuPont formed Kinetic Chemicals to produce Freon. Their product was dichlorodifluoromethane and is now designated "Freon-12", "R-12", or "CFC-12". The number after the R is a refrigerant class number developed by DuPont to systematically identify single halogenated hydrocarbons, as well as other refrigerants besides halocarbons.
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