Chlorine monofluoride is a volatile interhalogen compound with the

chemical formula A chemical formula is a way of presenting information about the chemical proportions of atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound or molecule, using chemical element symbols, numbers, and sometimes also other symbols, such as pare ...

. 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

halogen The halogens () are a group in the periodic table consisting of six chemically related elements: fluorine (F), chlorine (Cl), bromine (Br), iodine (I), and the radioactive elements astatine (At) and tennessine (Ts), though some authors would ...

s, and .

Geometry

The molecular structure in the gas phase was determined by microwave spectroscopy; the bond length is ''r''_e = 1.628341(4) Å. The bond length in the crystalline ClF is 1.628(1) Å; the lengthening relative to the free molecule is due to an interaction of the type F-Br···ClMe with a distance of 2.640(1) Å. In its molecular packing it shows very short intermolecular Cl···Cl contacts of 3.070(1) Å between neighboring molecules.

Reactivity

Chlorine monofluoride is a versatile fluorinating agent, converting metals and non-metals to their fluorides and releasing in the process. For example, it converts

tungsten Tungsten (also called wolfram) is a chemical element; it has symbol W and atomic number 74. It is a metal found naturally on Earth almost exclusively in compounds with other elements. It was identified as a distinct element in 1781 and first ...

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

and

selenium Selenium is a chemical element; it has symbol (chemistry), symbol Se and atomic number 34. It has various physical appearances, including a brick-red powder, a vitreous black solid, and a grey metallic-looking form. It seldom occurs in this elem ...

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 ...

: : : FCl can also chlorofluorinate compounds, either by addition across a

multiple bond Multiple may refer to: Economics *Multiple finance, a method used to analyze stock prices *Multiples of the price-to-earnings ratio *Chain stores, are also referred to as 'Multiples' *Box office multiple, the ratio of a film's total gross to tha ...

or via

oxidation Redox ( , , reduction–oxidation or oxidation–reduction) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of the reactants change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is ...

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

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

, yielding carbonyl chloride fluoride COClF, an intermediate between

phosgene Phosgene is an organic chemical compound with the formula . It is a toxic, colorless gas; in low concentrations, its musty odor resembles that of freshly cut hay or grass. It can be thought of chemically as the double acyl chloride analog of ...

and

carbonyl fluoride Carbonyl fluoride is a chemical compound with the formula . It is a carbon oxohalide. This gas, like its analog phosgene, is colourless and highly toxic. The molecule is planar with ''C''2v symmetry, bond lengths of 1.174 Å (C=O) and 1.312 Å ( ...

. :CO + ClF → Carbonyl-chlorofluoride-2D

Safety

Chlorine monofluoride is extremely reactive. It instantly destroys

glass Glass is an amorphous (non-crystalline solid, non-crystalline) solid. Because it is often transparency and translucency, transparent and chemically inert, glass has found widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in window pane ...

and ignites organic material on contact, reacts violently with water, is highly corrosive to mucous membranes and the skin, eyes, and respiratory tract, and may cause permanent blindness.https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Chlorine-monofluoride

References

External links

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

Geometry

Reactivity

Safety

See also

References

External links