Book excerpt: The introduction of carbon-fluorine bonds into organic compounds can profoundly influence their chemical and physical properties when compared to their non-fluorine-containing analogues, leading to a range of man-made materials with highly desirable properties. These molecules are of interest across the wide spectrum of industrial and academic organic chemistry, from pharmaceuticals, through fine and specialty chemicals to polymers. From Prozac to Teflon, many of the most important products of the chemical and life-science industries rely on organic fluorine chemistry for their useful properties. This book covers both the preparative methodologies and chemical properties of partially and highly fluorinated organic systems.