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Jai Ganesh

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Fluorine

Fluorine

Gist

Fluorine (F) is a highly reactive, pale yellow diatomic gas. It's the lightest halogen and the most electronegative element, meaning it strongly attracts electrons. Fluorine is found naturally in various compounds like fluorspar and is used in many applications, including dental hygiene and semiconductor manufacturing.

Fluorine is a chemical element; it has symbol F and atomic number 9. It is the lightest halogen and exists at standard conditions as pale yellow diatomic gas. Fluorine is extremely reactive as it reacts with all other elements except for the light noble gases. It is highly toxic.

Summary

Fluorine (F) is the most reactive chemical element and the lightest member of the halogen elements, or Group 17 (Group VIIa) of the periodic table. Its chemical activity can be attributed to its extreme ability to attract electrons (it is the most electronegative element) and to the small size of its atoms.

Element Properties

atomic number  :  9
atomic weight  :  18.998403163
melting point  :  −219.62 °C (−363.32 °F)
boiling point  :  −188 °C (−306 °F)
density (1 atm, 0 °C or 32 °F)  :  1.696 g/litre (0.226 ounce/gallon)
oxidation states  :  -1

History

The fluorine-containing mineral fluorspar (or fluorite) was described in 1529 by the German physician and mineralogist Georgius Agricola. It appears likely that crude hydrofluoric acid was first prepared by an unknown English glassworker in 1720. In 1771 the Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele obtained hydrofluoric acid in an impure state by heating fluorspar with concentrated sulfuric acid in a glass retort, which was greatly corroded by the product; as a result, vessels made of metal were used in subsequent experiments with the substance. The nearly anhydrous acid was prepared in 1809, and two years later the French physicist André-Marie Ampère suggested that it was a compound of hydrogen with an unknown element, analogous to chlorine, for which he suggested the name fluorine. Fluorspar was then recognized to be calcium fluoride.

The isolation of fluorine was for a long time one of the chief unsolved problems in inorganic chemistry, and it was not until 1886 that the French chemist Henri Moissan prepared the element by electrolyzing a solution of potassium hydrogen fluoride in hydrogen fluoride. He received the 1906 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for isolating fluorine. The difficulty in handling the element and its toxic properties contributed to the slow progress in fluorine chemistry. Indeed, up to the time of World War II the element appeared to be a laboratory curiosity. Then, however, the use of uranium hexafluoride in the separation of uranium isotopes, along with the development of organic fluorine compounds of industrial importance, made fluorine an industrial chemical of considerable use.

Production and use

Hydrogen fluoride is employed in the preparation of numerous inorganic and organic fluorine compounds of commercial importance—for example, sodium aluminum fluoride (Na3AlF6), used as an electrolyte in the electrolytic smelting of aluminum metal. A solution of hydrogen fluoride gas in water is called hydrofluoric acid, large quantities of which are consumed in industry for cleaning metals and for polishing, frosting, and etching glass.

The preparation of the free element is carried out by electrolytic procedures in the absence of water. Generally these take the form of electrolysis of a melt of potassium fluoride–hydrogen fluoride (in a ratio of 1 to 2.5–5) at temperatures between 30 and 70 °C (90 and 160 °F) or 80 and 120 °C (180 and 250 °F) or at a temperature of 250 °C (480 °F). During the process the hydrogen fluoride content of the electrolyte is decreased, and the melting point rises; it is therefore necessary to add hydrogen fluoride continuously. In the high-temperature cell the electrolyte is replaced when the melting point rises above 300 °C (570 °F). Fluorine can be safely stored under pressure in cylinders of stainless steel if the valves of the cylinders are free from traces of organic matter.

The element is used for the preparation of various fluorides, such as chlorine trifluoride (ClF3), sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), or cobalt trifluoride (CoF3). The chlorine and cobalt compounds are important fluorinating agents for organic compounds. (With appropriate precautions, the element itself may be used for the fluorination of organic compounds.) Sulfur hexafluoride is used as a gaseous electrical insulator.

Elemental fluorine, often diluted with nitrogen, reacts with hydrocarbons to form corresponding fluorocarbons in which some or all hydrogen has been replaced by fluorine. The resulting compounds are usually characterized by great stability, chemical inertness, high electrical resistance, and other valuable physical and chemical properties. This fluorination may be accomplished also by treating organic compounds with cobalt trifluoride (CoF3) or by electrolyzing their solutions in anhydrous hydrogen fluoride. Useful plastics with non-sticking qualities, such as polytetrafluoroethylene [(CF2CF2)x]; known by the commercial name Teflon), are readily made from unsaturated fluorocarbons. Organic compounds containing chlorine, bromine, or iodine are fluorinated to produce compounds such as dichlorodifluoromethane (Cl2CF2), the coolant which had been used widely in most household refrigerators and air conditioners. Since chlorofluorocarbons, such as dichlorodifluoromethane, play an active role in the depletion of the ozone layer, their manufacture and use have been restricted, and refrigerants containing hydrofluorocarbons are now preferred.

The element is also used for the preparation of uranium hexafluoride (UF6), utilized in the gaseous diffusion process of separating uranium-235 from uranium-238 for reactor fuel. Hydrogen fluoride and boron trifluoride (BF3) are produced commercially because they are good catalysts for the alkylation reactions used to prepare organic compounds of many kinds. Sodium fluoride is commonly added to drinking water in order to reduce the incidence of dental caries in children. In recent years, the most important application for fluorine compounds is in the pharmaceutical and agriculture fields. Selective fluorine substitution dramatically changes the biological properties of these compounds.

Details

Fluorine (symbol F) is a chemical element that is very poisonous. Its atomic number (which is the number of protons in it) is 9, and its atomic mass is 19. It is part of the Group 7 (halogens) on the periodic table of elements.

Properties

Fluorine is a light yellow diatomic gas. It is very reactive gas, which exists as diatomic molecules. It is the most reactive element. Fluorine has a very high attraction for electrons because it is missing one. This makes it the most powerful oxidizing agent. It can rip electrons from water (making oxygen) and ignite propane on contact. It does not need a spark. Metals can catch on fire when placed in a stream of fluorine. After it is reduced by reacting with other things, it forms the stable fluoride ion. Fluorine is very poisonous. Fluorine bonds very strongly with carbon. It can react with the unreactive noble gases. It explodes when mixed with hydrogen. The melting point of fluorine is -363.33°F (-219.62°C), the boiling point is -306.62°F (-188.12°C).

Occurrence

Fluorine is not found as an element on the earth because it is too reactive. Several fluorides are found in the earth, though. When calcium phosphate is reacted with sulfuric acid to make phosphoric acid, some hydrofluoric acid is produced. Also, fluorite can be reacted with sulfuric acid to make hydrofluoric acid. Fluorite naturally occurs on the earths' crust in rocks, coal and clay.

Preparation

Fluorine is normally made by electrolysis. Hydrogen fluoride is dissolved in potassium fluoride. This mixture is melted and an electric current is passed through it. This is electrolysis. Hydrogen is produced at one side and fluorine at the other side. If the sides are not separated, the cell may explode.

Someone made fluorine in 1986 without using electrolysis. They produced manganese(IV) fluoride by using various chemical compounds, which released fluorine gas.

Uses

Fluorine is used to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons. It is also used to make sulfur hexafluoride. Sulfur hexafluoride is used to propel stuff out of an aerosol can. It is also used to make integrated circuits. Fluorine compounds have many uses. Fluoride ions are in fluorine compounds. Fluoride ions can be in toothpaste. Some are used in nonstick coatings. Freons contain fluorine.

Safety

Fluorine as an element is extremely reactive and toxic. It can react with almost everything, even glass. Fluorine is also poisonous.

Fluoride ions are somewhat toxic. If too much toothpaste containing fluoride is eaten then fluoride poisoning may occur. Fluoride is not reactive, though.

Additional Information

Fluorine is a chemical element; it has symbol F and atomic number 9. It is the lightest halogen and exists at standard conditions as pale yellow diatomic gas. Fluorine is extremely reactive as it reacts with all other elements except for the light noble gases. It is highly toxic.

Among the elements, fluorine ranks 24th in cosmic abundance and 13th in crustal abundance. Fluorite, the primary mineral source of fluorine, which gave the element its name, was first described in 1529; as it was added to metal ores to lower their melting points for smelting, the Latin verb fluo meaning 'to flow' gave the mineral its name. Proposed as an element in 1810, fluorine proved difficult and dangerous to separate from its compounds, and several early experimenters died or sustained injuries from their attempts. Only in 1886 did French chemist Henri Moissan isolate elemental fluorine using low-temperature electrolysis, a process still employed for modern production. Industrial production of fluorine gas for uranium enrichment, its largest application, began during the Manhattan Project in World War II.

Owing to the expense of refining pure fluorine, most commercial applications use fluorine compounds, with about half of mined fluorite used in steelmaking. The rest of the fluorite is converted into hydrogen fluoride en route to various organic fluorides, or into cryolite, which plays a key role in aluminium refining. The carbon–fluorine bond is usually very stable. Organofluorine compounds are widely used as refrigerants, electrical insulation, and PTFE (Teflon). Pharmaceuticals such as atorvastatin and fluoxetine contain C−F bonds. The fluoride ion from dissolved fluoride salts inhibits dental cavities and so finds use in toothpaste and water fluoridation. Global fluorochemical sales amount to more than US$15 billion a year.

Fluorocarbon gases are generally greenhouse gases with global-warming potentials 100 to 23,500 times that of carbon dioxide, and SF6 has the highest global warming potential of any known substance. Organofluorine compounds often persist in the environment due to the strength of the carbon–fluorine bond. Fluorine has no known metabolic role in mammals; a few plants and marine sponges synthesize organofluorine poisons (most often monofluoroacetates) that help deter predation.

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