My group is trying to create a reservoir that will contain silk dope consisting of silk proteins solubilized in HFIP. One method that we want to try is to 3D print this reservoir. The 3D print would be composed of ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) plastic, which as far as I can tell, is not resistant to HFIP. Could I make this material HFIP-resistant by spraying it with a Teflon (PTFE) spray?
Alternatively, would a reservoir constructed out of PTFE itself be resistant to HFIP naturally?
Concerning the last question. Yes.
The Polymer Handbbok by Brandrup et al. states for the solubility of PTFE: "Perfluorokerosene (350°C), no other solvent known"
So it's pretty safe that a PFTE container will not be solved by HFIP at RT. But I think there might be even more polymers that you might want to have a look at. As you probably know PTFE is hard to process.
Thank you for pointing out The Polymer Handbook! It seems like an excellent resource. PTFE appears to be very difficult to machine, so I will be working with PEEK plastic instead.
PFA polymer is eazy processible and resistant like PTFE.
About ABS polymer - should be resistant after cross-linking (by additives or by radiation treatment)
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