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Introduction to Fluorine Chemistry
Fluorine chemistry – a history of discovery
For more than 70 years, fluorine compounds have been used in the chemical, electrical, aerospace and other industrial fields. In technological processes, relatively few (natural, for example cryolites) metal fluorides and their compounds were used historically. Before that, attempts to obtain elemental fluorine in pure form were unsuccessful for about 100 years. In the 19th century, one of the main tasks of chemistry was considered to be the isolation of pure fluorine. This was accomplished in 1886 by the French chemist A. Moissan. Obtaining free fluorine made it possible to study its previously predicted enormous reactivity. These distinctive properties of fluorine and its compounds — fluorides — were precisely what had hindered earlier research.
After the discovery of pure fluorine, researchers became interested in previously unseen properties. At that time, scientists had not yet considered using fluorine industrially and instead studied its properties. D.I. Mendeleev wrote that “now fluorine, … the overall body of general chemical knowledge about fluorine as an element, has gained little from this.”
In the 1940s, only a few people were thinking about its technical application. For example, in the “Technical Encyclopedia” of 1934, fluorine was described as follows: “…fluorine has no practical significance for industry.” This description most likely reflected the industry’s attitude toward pure fluorine at that time.
The special properties of fluorine chemistry (including its compounds, such as sodium fluoride) lie, above all, in rather interesting characteristics. Among them, it is worth highlighting its high oxidizing potential, which exceeds even that of ozone, as well as the highest electronegativity compared to other chemical elements. Fluorine is characterized by small size, both in molecular and atomic form, and has high bonding energy. In addition, the fluorine molecule has low dissociation energy. These key characteristics make fluorine significantly different from other elements of Mendeleev’s periodic table.
The large thermal effect of the reaction of fluorine with hydrazine, ammonia, hydrogen and some other substances made it possible to create fairly powerful energy sources based on fluorine. Moreover, the more actively fluorine reacts with another substance, the stronger the energy of the resulting bonds, and the more stable the substance formed by such a reaction. In turn, such a strong bond gives increased stability against subsequent chemical and temperature effects on the resulting substance. This became one of the important properties of these compounds for use in the new technologies of that time.
Immediately after the discovery of pure fluorine, scientists began studying its interaction with carbon. But such compounds went unused in industry for a long time. Only the need to stabilize atomic energy became the impetus for studying the most effective ways of combining fluorine with organic materials, which led to the emergence of a large number of fluorocarbons. These are substances consisting of fluorine and carbon that mimic the structure of hydrocarbon molecules — such compounds do not occur in nature. These substances have a number of specific features, the most important of which are small intermolecular bonds, chemical resistance, heat resistance, a reduced boiling point, weak surface tension, excellent dielectric properties, and others. Of course, this unusual combination of properties in a single material became a defining factor for its use in a whole range of technologies of that time.
Some applications of fluorides in industry:
– in cooling devices (freon — a fluorocarbon),
– used as heat carriers (especially relevant for aviation and rocket engineering),
– as gas dielectrics,
– as a flame retardant (extinguishing properties used in rocket engineering),
– used as an easily boiling solvent in the manufacture of aerosol packaging for spraying various dyes, detergents and antibacterial agents,
– in the purification of hydrocarbon oils
– in the polymerization of fluoroolefins — the basis of fluoroplastics (for example, fluoroplastic-4 withstands heating up to 400 degrees and is chemically resistant). Fluoroplastics are also used in medicine and food production.
– in the synthesis of perfluoroethers — the production of “eternal” lubricants that are highly resistant to oxidation.
– the ability to reduce the surface tension of liquid media is used to produce surfactants — such materials are used for water- and oil-repellency, protection against bacterial effects (used to treat textiles, paper, leather to increase strength, acid resistance, etc.).
Separately, we note the field of application of inorganic fluorides:
– hydrofluoric acid (hydrogen fluoride) as a powerful catalyst in organic chemistry reactions, in ore processing to obtain metals, in the production of glass and optical glass. It is also used in the production of light-resistant dyes, antiseptic and carcinogenic preparations, anesthetics, and more.
Interestingly, pure fluorine is, in a sense, a border element between organic and inorganic chemistry. Its special ability to form compounds with metals and non-metals makes it possible to create stable materials with no analogues (among other compounds) across a very wide range of properties. This element greatly expands the boundaries of using various substances in technology.
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