Tetrahalomethanes are fully

halogenated 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, ...

methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The relative abundance of methane on Ea ...

derivatives of general formula CBr_kCl_lF_mI_nAt_p, where:

k+l+m+n+p=4

Tetrahalomethanes are on the border of

inorganic In chemistry, an inorganic compound is typically a chemical compound that lacks carbon–hydrogen bonds, that is, a compound that is not an organic compound. The study of inorganic compounds is a subfield of chemistry known as ''inorganic chemist ...

and organic chemistry, thus they can be assigned both inorganic and organic names by

IUPAC The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC ) is an international federation of National Adhering Organizations working for the advancement of the chemical sciences, especially by developing nomenclature and terminology. It is ...

: tetrafluoromethane - carbon tetrafluoride, tetraiodomethane - carbon tetraiodide, dichlorodifluoromethane - carbon dichloride difluoride. Each halogen ( F, Cl, Br, I, At) forms a corresponding halomethane, but their stability decreases in order CF₄ > CH₄ > CCl₄ > CBr₄ > CI₄ from exceptionally stable gaseous

tetrafluoromethane Tetrafluoromethane, also known as carbon tetrafluoride or R-14, is the simplest perfluorocarbon ( C F4). As its IUPAC name indicates, tetrafluoromethane is the perfluorinated counterpart to the hydrocarbon methane. It can also be classified as a ...

with bond energy 515 kJ.mol⁻¹ to solid tetraiodomethane, depending on

bond energy In chemistry, bond energy (''BE''), also called the mean bond enthalpy or average bond enthalpy is the measure of bond strength in a chemical bond. IUPAC defines bond energy as the average value of the gas-phase bond-dissociation energy (usually ...

. Many mixed halomethanes are also known, such as CBrClF₂.

Uses

Fluorine, chlorine, and sometimes bromine-substituted halomethanes were used as refrigerants, commonly known as CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons).

Uses

See also