The fluorous biphasic concept was based on the attachments of long perfluoroalkyl chains to organic substrates, which resulted in a preferential partition of the fluorous substrates to a fluorine-rich phase in fluorous / organic biphasic liquid-liquid systems. As long perfluoroalkyl chains containing compounds could have negative health and environmental effects, a more sustainable solution to the design of novel fluorous tails is sought. One possibility was the attachment of several short and linear/branched fluorous tails, retaining the required fluorine content and providing a more sustainable alternative.

A number of novel fluorous compounds have been synthesized and characterized. They all contain the short or branched fluorous ponytails. Since they all have a fluorine content above 60%, they have shown satisfactory fluorous partitions in fluorous / organic biphasic liquid systems, and the partition coefficients are even higher when a more polar or protic organic solvent is used. Novel fluorous ligands containing several short C_3-4 perfluoroalkyl groups have been synthesized and characterized. These novel ligands should show potential applications in fluorous biphasic catalytic reactions.