What is fluorine?
Fluorine in the periodic table
Published in
2 min readSep 2, 2022
Fluorine is a chemical element or poisonous gas of group 17 of the periodic table with the symbol F and atomic number 9. It is the most reactive halogen that lies between oxygen and neon in the periodic table.
Fluorine may combine with most of the periodic table elements present on the Earth.
Properties
It is a pale yellow-green and dangerously reactive gas that reacts with all the elements and quickly attacks all metals.
- Relative atomic mass: 18.998
- State at 20°C: Gas
- Melting point: −219.67 °C
- Boiling point: −188.11 °C
- Density (g/cm3): 0.001553
- CAS number: 7782–41–4
- Chem Spider ID: 4514530
Facts about fluorine
- It is the lightest halogen and most electronegative chemical element.
- It is a highly toxic, pale yellow diatomic gas at standard temperature and pressure
- It is proposed as an element in 1810 but difficult and dangerous to separate from its compounds. It was isolated in 1886 by French chemist Henri Moissan by using low-temperature electrolysis.
- It is found naturally in the earth’s crust, coal, clay, and rocks. Fluorine is the 13th most abundant element in the Earth’s crust that is present in fluoride form.
- The most common minerals of fluorine are fluorite, fluorspar, and cryolite but it is also widely distributed with other minerals in the earth's crust.
- It may be prepared by the electrolysis of potassium hydrogen difluoride solution in presence of anhydrous hydrofluoric acid.
- It is not essential for humans and other mammals but small amounts of fluorine are beneficial for the strengthening of dental enamel.
Uses of fluorine
- The element is used for manufacturing uranium hexafluoride which is needed in the nuclear power industry to separate uranium isotopes.
- Molecular and atomic fluorine is used in semiconductor technology for plasma etching, MEMs fabrication, and flat panel display production.
- The insulating gas sulfur hexafluoride for high-power electricity transformers is obtained from fluorine gas.
- It is used for making many fluorochemicals, solvents, and high-temperature plastics like Teflon.
- It is added to toothpaste to prevent dental cavities.
- Hydrofluoric acid is an important substance for etching the glass of light bulbs.
- CFCs or chloro-fluoro-carbons are important materials in aerosol propellants and air conditioners and refrigerators. Presently, they are now banned due to ozone layer depletion.
References
https://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/9/fluorine
https://www.priyamstudycentre.com/2020/11/fluorine.html
