Method for producing polytetrafluoroethylene fine powder
To provide a method for producing a PTFE fine powder having a low paste extrusion pressure property by a simple method. The method for producing a PTFE fine power comprises emulsion polymerizing tetrafluoroethylene in the presence of an aqueous medium, a fluorinated surfactant and a radical polymerization initiator, to produce an aqueous PTFE emulsion, and coagulating it in the presence of at least one bulk density-reducing compound selected from the group consisting of ammonia, an ammonium salt and urea in an amount of from 0.4 to 10 parts by mass per 100 parts by mass of PTFE.
1. A method for producing a polytetrafluoroethylene fine powder, which comprises emulsion polymerizing tetrafluoroethylene in the presence of an aqueous medium, a fluorinated surfactant and a radical polymerization initiator, to produce an aqueous polytetrafluoroethylene emulsion, and coagulating the emulsion in the presence of at least one bulk density-reducing compound selected from the group consisting of ammonium carbonate and ammonium hydrogencarbonate in an amount of from 0.4 to 10 parts by mass per 100 parts by mass of polytetrafluoroethylen,
wherein the polytetrafluoroethylene fine powder produced is non-melt-moldable, has a standard specific gravity of from 2.140 to 2.150 and has a paste extrusion pressure of from 12 to 20 MPa.
2. The method for producing a polytetrafluoroethylene fine powder according to claim 1 , wherein the aqueous medium consists of water.
3. The method for producing a polytetrafluoroethylene fine powder according to claim 1 , wherein the radical polymerization initiator is at least one member selected from the group consisting of a water-soluble radical initiator, a water-soluble oxidation-reduction catalyst or an oil-soluble radical polymerization initiator.
4. The method for producing a polytetrafluoroethylene fine powder according to claim 1 , wherein the bulk density-reducing compound is ammonium carbonate.
5. The method for producing a polytetrafluoroethylene fine powder according to claim 1 , wherein the fluorinated surfactant is at least one member selected from the group consisting of a fluorinated carboxylic acid having from 1 to 4 etheric oxygen atoms in the molecule and salts thereof, a perfluoroalkylcarboxylic acid and salts thereof, a ω-hydroperfluoroalkylcarboxylic acid and salts thereof, and a fluorinated sulfonic acid and salts thereof.
6. The method for producing a polytetrafluoroethylene fine powder according to claim 5 , wherein the number of carbon atoms constituting the fluorinated surfactant is from 4 to 10.
7. The method for producing a polytetrafluoroethylene fine powder according to claim 1 , wherein the amounts of the aqueous medium, the fluorinated surfactant and the radical polymerization initiator to be used for the emulsion polymerization are from 120 to 900 parts by mass, from 0.15 to 2.0 parts by mass and from 0.01 to 0.20 parts by mass, per 100 parts by mass of polytetrafluoroethylene, respectively.
8. The method for producing a polytetrafluoroethylene fine powder according to claim 1 , wherein the amount of the bulk density-reducing compound is from 0.5 to 9 parts by mass per 100 parts by mass of polytetrafluoroethylene.
9. The method for producing a polytetrafluoroethylene fine powder according to claim 1 , wherein conditions for the emulsion polymerization are such that the polymerization temperature is from 10 to 95° C., the polymerization pressure (gauge pressure) is from 0.5 to 4.0 MPa and the polymerization time is from 90 to 520 minutes.
10. The method for producing a polytetrafluoroethylene fine powder according to claim 1 , wherein the polytetrafluoroethylene fine powder is a polytetrafluoroethylene homopolymer fine powder.