Perfluoro-1,3-dimethylcyclohexane is a
fluorocarbon
Fluorocarbons are chemical compounds with carbon-fluorine bonds. Compounds that contain many C-F bonds often have distinctive properties, e.g., enhanced stability, volatility, and hydrophobicity. Several fluorocarbons and their derivatives are ...
liquid—a perfluorinated derivative of the
hydrocarbon
In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and Hydrophobe, hydrophobic; their odor is usually fain ...
1,3-dimethylcyclohexane. It is chemically and biologically inert.
Manufacture
Perfluoro-1,3-dimethylcyclohexane can be manufactured by the
Fowler process The Fowler process is an industry and laboratory route to fluorocarbons, by fluorinating hydrocarbons or their partially fluorinated derivatives in the vapor phase over cobalt(III) fluoride.
Background
The Manhattan Project required the productio ...
, which involves moderating the action of elemental fluorine with cobalt fluoride in the gas phase from
''meta''-xylene. This is preferred as the starting material over 1,3-dimethylcyclohexane as less fluorine is required.
Properties
Perfluoro-1,3-dimethylcyclohexane is chemically inert and thermally stable (to over 400 °C).
It is a clear, colorless liquid, with a relatively high density, low viscosity and low surface tension that will rapidly evaporate. It is a relatively good solvent for gases, but a poor solvent for solids and liquids.
In common with other cyclic perfluorocarbons, perfluoro-1,3-dimethylcyclohexane can be detected at extremely low concentrations, making it ideal as a tracer.
Applications
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Heat transfer agent
A coolant is a substance, typically liquid, that is used to reduce or regulate the temperature of a system. An ideal coolant has high thermal capacity, low viscosity, is low-cost, non-toxic, chemically inert and neither causes nor promotes corrosi ...
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Dielectric fluid
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Perfluorocarbon tracer
Perfluorocarbon tracers (PFTs) are a range of perfluorocarbons used in flow tracers and other tracing applications. They are used by releasing the PFT at a certain point, and determining the concentration of that PFT at another set of points, allo ...
References
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Fluorocarbons
Halogenated solvents
Coolants