Until recently chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were widely used as refrigerants in refrigerators and air conditioners, and as propellants in aerosol sprays. However, since it has been proven that CFCs contribute to destruction of the ozone layer and to global warming their use has been internationally banned. Currently, countries throughout the world are collecting remaining stocks of CFCs and are investigating different methods to render these stocks into harmless byproducts. Utilizing a plasma copolymerization process, a chloroflourocarbon stabilization method was successfully developed by this research. The method converts chlorofluorocarbons into harmless polymer films by mixing CFCs and a hydrocarbon, with a similar chemical structure, in a low temperature plasma.

Some advantages of this method are:

1. High rate chemical conversion at low power levels, around 100 Watts. Mixing a hydrocarbon with the CFC source increases the conversion rate by about ten times.

2. All types of chlorofluorocarbons can be converted into harmless byproducts, where as other methods can breakdown only limited types of CFCs.

3. The amount of acidic byproducts produced in this process are substantially lower than that of other methods of breaking CFCs down. Secondary pollution is not a problem.

4. The stable fluorine and chlorine containing polymer films produced have a hydrophobic, resist corrosion, and low dielectric constant. These properties make copolymer films deposited from CFCs a prospective material for protective coatings and as an electrical materials.

Building on these results, the future goals of this research are to develop this laboratory method into a process suitable for industrial use and to advance the technology of recycling these copolymers into commercially useful films.