Chlorine monofluoride is a volatile

interhalogen In chemistry, an interhalogen compound is a molecule which contains two or more different halogen atoms (fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine, or astatine) and no atoms of elements from any other group. Most interhalogen compounds known are binar ...

compound with the chemical formula ClF. It is a colourless gas at room temperature and is stable even at high temperatures. When cooled to −100 °C, ClF condenses as a pale yellow liquid. Many of its properties are intermediate between its parent halogens, Cl₂ and F₂.

Reactivity

Chlorine monofluoride is a versatile

fluorinating agent In chemistry, halogenation is a chemical reaction that entails the introduction of one or more halogens into a compound. Halide-containing compounds are pervasive, making this type of transformation important, e.g. in the production of polymers ...

, converting metals and non-metals to their fluorides and releasing Cl₂ in the process. For example, it converts tungsten to

tungsten hexafluoride Tungsten(VI) fluoride, also known as tungsten hexafluoride, is an inorganic compound with the formula W F6. It is a toxic, corrosive, colorless gas, with a density of about (roughly 11 times heavier than air). It is one of the densest known gase ...

and selenium to

selenium tetrafluoride Selenium tetrafluoride ( Se F4) is an inorganic compound. It is a colourless liquid that reacts readily with water. It can be used as a fluorinating reagent in organic syntheses (fluorination of alcohols, carboxylic acids or carbonyl compounds) an ...

: :W + 6 ClF → WF₆ + 3 Cl₂ :Se + 4 ClF → SeF₄ + 2 Cl₂ FCl can also chlorofluorinate compounds, either by addition across a

multiple bond In chemistry, bond order, as introduced by Linus Pauling, is defined as the difference between the number of bonds and anti-bonds. The bond order itself is the number of electron pairs (covalent bonds) between two atoms. For example, in diatom ...

or via oxidation. For example, it adds fluorine and chlorine to the carbon of

carbon monoxide Carbon monoxide (chemical formula CO) is a colorless, poisonous, odorless, tasteless, flammable gas that is slightly less dense than air. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. It is the simpl ...

, yielding carbonyl chloride fluoride: :CO + ClF → Carbonyl-chlorofluoride-2D

References

External links

National Pollutant Inventory - Fluoride and compounds fact sheetWebBook page for FCl
{{Fluorine compounds Fluorides Fluorinating agents Inorganic chlorine compounds Interhalogen compounds Oxidizing agents

Reactivity

See also

References

External links