Phases of fluorine

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Henri Moissan's 1892 record of fluorine gas color, viewed end-on in a 5‑m tube. Air (1) is on the left, fluorine (2) is in the middle, chlorine (3) is on the right.

ppb.[4]

Liquid fluorine

Fluorine condenses to a bright yellow liquid at −188 °C (−307 °F),[5] which is near the condensation temperatures of oxygen and nitrogen.

The solid state of fluorine relies on Van der Waals forces to hold molecules together,[citation needed] which, because of the small size of the fluorine molecules, are relatively weak. Consequently, the solid state of fluorine is more similar to that of oxygen[6][7] or the noble gases than to those of the heavier halogens.[citation needed]

Animation showing the crystal structure of beta-fluorine.[8]
angled lines showing linear pressure temp relations of the lower phase boundaries
Low-temperature fluorine phases

Fluorine solidifies at −220 °C (−363 °F)[5] into a cubic structure, called beta-fluorine. This phase is transparent and soft, with significant disorder of the molecules; its density is 1.70 g/cm3. At −228 °C (−378 °F) fluorine undergoes a solid–solid phase transition into a monoclinic structure called alpha-fluorine.

A parallelogram-shaped outline with space-filling diatomic molecules (joined circles) arranged in two layers
Alpha-fluorine crystal structure

This phase is opaque and hard, with close-packed layers of molecules, and is denser at 1.97 g/cm3.[9] The solid state phase change requires more energy than the melting point transition and can be violent, shattering samples and blowing out sample holder windows.[10][11]

History

Henri Moissan was the first to isolate the element, observing its gaseous phase. Solid fluorine received significant study in the 1920s and 30s, but relatively less until the 1960s. The crystal structure of alpha-fluorine given, which still has some uncertainty, dates to a 1970 paper by Linus Pauling.

Notes

  1. kilopascal and 0 °C is 1.2724 g/L.[2]

Citations

  1. ^ Jaccaud et al. 2005, p. 2.
  2. ^ Shelquist, Richard (2010). "An introduction to air density and density altitude calculations". Shelquist Engineering. Retrieved 29 April 2011.
  3. ^ Burdon, Emson & Edwards 1987, p. 471.
  4. ^ Lide 2004, p. 4.12.
  5. ^ a b Dean 1999, p. 523.
  6. ^ Jordan, Streib & Lipscomb 1964, p. 760.
  7. ^ Jordan et al. 1964.
  8. ^ Jordan, Streib & Lipscomb 1964, Fig. 1
  9. ^ Meyer, Barrett & Greer 1969.
  10. ^ Young 1975, p. 10
  11. ^ Barrett, Meyer & Wasserman 1967.

Indexed references

Further reading