Description
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The element fluorine is a halogen, and in its normal state fluorine is a yellow-brown gas with a foul odor. Fluorine has an atomic weight of 18.9984032, a melting point of -363.32 °F, and a boiling point of -306.62 °F. Fluorine, as the most reactive of the elements, will react with almost all inorganic and organic matter. Some current uses of fluorine include: as a hydrocarbon for use in refrigerators and air conditioners, as a tooth decay preventative in very small amounts in water and toothpaste, and in the production of high temperature plastics.
Isolation
The high reactivity of fluorine has limited the type of procedures that are available to use in fluorine isolation. Fluorine is hardly ever isolated in a laboratory because of safety reasons.
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A process named Moissan’s process is used to isolate fluorine for industrial purposes. During this process, a solution of potassium hydrogen fluoride is electrolyzed in liquid hydrogen fluoride. The liquid hydrogen fluoride is a necessary component of the reaction because it does not conduct electricity. During the electrolysis process, the fluoride is isolated from other elements by passing an electric current through the compounds. Moissan’s process uses electrodes made from platinum and iridium that are placed in a platinum holder and cooled to -122 °F. As the electric current passes through, the negative electrode isolate outs the hydrogen as the positive electrode isolates the fluorine. One another method can separate fluorine through a heated chemical reaction between K2MnF6 and 2SbF5 instead of using electrolysis; this isolation process is not used though because it is inefficient. Pure fluorine and fluoride ions are extremely dangerous as this element is very reactive and toxic.