Sulfur hexafluoride

By Hayley Bennett2019-10-23T08:46:00

Source: © Henry Groskinsky/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images ; Molecule © Getty Images

A gas widely used in electrical devices with 23,500 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide

Between 1989 and 2006, Nike relied on chemists to solve a problem with its Air shoes. The ‘air’ putting the bounce in the soles of its iconic trainers was sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆), a greenhouse gas thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide, and the sports brand was searching for something less environmentally damaging.

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