Carbon monofluoride (CF, CF_x, or (CF)_n), also called polycarbon monofluoride (PMF), polycarbon fluoride, poly(carbon monofluoride), and graphite fluoride, is a material formed by high-temperature reaction of

fluorine Fluorine is a chemical element with the symbol F and atomic number 9. It is the lightest halogen and exists at standard conditions as a highly toxic, pale yellow diatomic gas. As the most electronegative reactive element, it is extremely reacti ...

gas with

graphite Graphite () is a crystalline form of the element carbon. It consists of stacked layers of graphene. Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable form of carbon under standard conditions. Synthetic and natural graphite are consumed on large ...

charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, cal ...

, or

pyrolytic carbon Pyrolytic carbon is a material similar to graphite, but with some covalent bonding between its graphene sheets as a result of imperfections in its production. Pyrolytic carbon is man-made and is thought not to be found in nature.Ratner, Buddy D. ...

powder. It is a highly hydrophobic

microcrystalline A microcrystalline material is a crystallized substance or rock that contains small crystals visible only through microscopic examination. There is little agreement on the range of crystal sizes that should be regarded as microcrystalline, but th ...

powder. Its

CAS number A CAS Registry Number (also referred to as CAS RN or informally CAS Number) is a unique identification number assigned by the Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS), US to every chemical substance described in the open scientific literature. It inclu ...

is . In contrast to

graphite intercalation compounds Graphite intercalation compounds are complex materials having a formula where the ion or is inserted ( intercalated) between the oppositely charged carbon layers. Typically ''m'' is much less than 1. These materials are deeply colored solids t ...

it is a

covalent A covalent bond is a chemical bond that involves the sharing of electrons to form electron pairs between atoms. These electron pairs are known as shared pairs or bonding pairs. The stable balance of attractive and repulsive forces between atoms ...

graphite compound. Carbon is stable in a fluorine atmosphere up to about 400 °C, but between 420-600 °C a reaction takes place to give sub

stoichiometric Stoichiometry refers to the relationship between the quantities of reactants and products before, during, and following chemical reactions. Stoichiometry is founded on the law of conservation of mass where the total mass of the reactants equ ...

carbon monofluoride, CF_0.68 appearing dark grey. With increasing temperature and fluorine pressure stoichiometries up to CF_1.12 are formed. With increasing fluorine content the colour changes from dark grey to cream white indicating the loss of the aromatic character. The fluorine atoms are located in an alternating fashion above and under the former

graphene Graphene () is an allotrope of carbon consisting of a single layer of atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice nanostructure.

plane, which is now buckled due to formation of

carbon-fluorine bonds. Reaction of carbon with fluorine at even higher temperature successively destroys the graphite compound to yield a mixture of gaseous

fluorocarbon Fluorocarbons are chemical compounds with carbon-fluorine bonds. Compounds that contain many C-F bonds often has distinctive properties, e.g., enhanced stability, volatility, and hydrophobicity. Fluorocarbons and their derivatives are commerci ...

s such as tetrafluorocarbon, CF₄, and

tetrafluoroethylene Tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) is a fluorocarbon with the chemical formula C2 F4. It is the simplest perfluorinated alkene. This gaseous species is used primarily in the industrial preparation of fluoropolymers. Properties Tetrafluoroethylene is a ...

, C₂F₄. In a similar fashion the recently found carbon allotrope

fullerene A fullerene is an allotrope of carbon whose molecule consists of carbon atoms connected by single and double bonds so as to form a closed or partially closed mesh, with fused rings of five to seven atoms. The molecule may be a hollow sphere, ...

, C₆₀ reacts with fluorine gas to give fullerene fluorides with stoichiometries up to C₆₀F₄₈. A precursor of carbon monofluoride is the fluorine-graphite intercalation compound, also called fluorine-GIC. Other intercalation fluorides of carbon are: * poly(dicarbon fluoride) ((C₂F)_n); * tetracarbon monofluoride (TCMF, C₄F). Graphite fluoride is a precursor for preparation of

graphene fluoride Fluorographene (or perfluorographane, graphene fluoride) is a fluorocarbon derivative of graphene.''Properties of Fluorinated Graphene Films'' It is a two dimensional carbon sheet of sp3 hybridized carbons, with each carbon atom bound to one ...

by a liquid phase exfoliation.

Application

Carbon monofluoride is used as a high- energy-density

cathode A cathode is the electrode from which a conventional current leaves a polarized electrical device. This definition can be recalled by using the mnemonic ''CCD'' for ''Cathode Current Departs''. A conventional current describes the direction in whi ...

material in

lithium batteries Lithium battery may refer to: * Lithium metal battery, a non-rechargeable battery with lithium as an anode ** Rechargeable lithium metal battery, a rechargeable counterpart to the lithium metal battery * Lithium-ion battery, a rechargeable batte ...

of the "BR" type. Other uses are a

wear Wear is the damaging, gradual removal or deformation of material at solid surfaces. Causes of wear can be mechanical (e.g., erosion) or chemical (e.g., corrosion). The study of wear and related processes is referred to as tribology. Wear in m ...

reduction additive for

lubricant A lubricant (sometimes shortened to lube) is a substance that helps to reduce friction between surfaces in mutual contact, which ultimately reduces the heat generated when the surfaces move. It may also have the function of transmitting forces, t ...

s, and weather-resistant additive for

paint Paint is any pigmented liquid, liquefiable, or solid mastic composition that, after application to a substrate in a thin layer, converts to a solid film. It is most commonly used to protect, color, or provide texture. Paint can be made in many ...

s. Graphite fluoride is also used as both

oxidizing agent An oxidizing agent (also known as an oxidant, oxidizer, electron recipient, or electron acceptor) is a substance in a redox chemical reaction that gains or "Electron acceptor, accepts"/"receives" an electron from a (called the , , or ). In ot ...

and

combustion modifier Combustion, or burning, is a high-temperature exothermic redox chemical reaction between a fuel (the reductant) and an oxidant, usually atmospheric oxygen, that produces oxidized, often gaseous products, in a mixture termed as smoke. Combusti ...

rocket propellant Rocket propellant is the reaction mass of a rocket. This reaction mass is ejected at the highest achievable velocity from a rocket engine A rocket engine uses stored rocket propellants as the reaction mass for forming a high-speed propuls ...

s and

pyrolant A pyrolant (from Greek ''pyr'', fire) is an energetic material that generates hot flames upon combustion. Pyrolants are metal-based pyrotechnic compositions containing virtually any oxidizer. The term was originally coined by Kuwahara in 1992, in a ...

s. Carbon monofluoride is commercially available as Carbofluor-brand materials.

References

* {{Carbon compounds Fluorides Inorganic carbon compounds Nonmetal halides