Nafion is a sulfonated tetrafluoroethylene based fluoropolymer-copolymer discovered in the late 1960s by Walther Grot of DuPont. It is the first of a class of synthetic polymers with ionic properties which are called ionomers.his form of Nafion, referred to as the neutral or salt form, is finally converted to the acid form containing the sulfonic acid (-SO 3 H) groups. Nafion can be cast into thin films by heating in aqueous alcohol at 250 Â°C in an autoclave.
Some scientists have estimated that the krill in the ocean around Antarctica weigh more than the entire worldâs human population. The krill, rich in protein and fat, are food for large numbers of animals at the top of the food chain, including penguins, seals, and whales. Scientists studying the Antarctic marine ecosystem now know that its high productivity is confined to the edge of the sea ice and a few other areas, rather than everywhere in the Southern Ocean.
As all larger animals of the terrestrial ecosystem of Antarctica obtain their food from the productive waters of the Southern Ocean, it is the coastal areas of Maudlandia that are populated with large colonies of birds and seals.