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unusual facts about Thomas Midgley, Jr.


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In 1930 Thomas Midgley, Jr. discovered dichlorodifluoromethane, a chlorinated fluorocarbon (CFC) known as freon.


Thomas Midgley, Jr.

They rejected the assumption that such compounds would be toxic, believing that the stability of the carbon–fluorine bond would be sufficient to prevent the release of hydrogen fluoride or other potential breakdown products.

He was a key figure in a team of chemists, led by Charles F. Kettering, that developed the tetraethyllead (TEL) additive to gasoline as well as some of the first chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).


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