What is Chlorine Trifluoride?
Chlorine trifluoride is an interhalogen compound with the chemical formula ClF3. A severe irritant to the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes is chlorine trifluoride. Lung damage can be caused by exposure to this gas. A 30-minute exposure to 400 ppm was lethal to rats. The mechanism whereby metals resist the attack of elemental fluorine or of chlorine trifluoride is not completely understood. It is a powerful oxidiser and if most combustible material comes in contact with chlorine trifluoride it ignites spontaneously.
Other names – Chlorine fluoride, trifluoro – λ3 – chlorane
|Molecular Weight/ Molar Mass||92.448 g/mol|
|Boiling Point||11.75 °C|
|Melting Point||−76.34 °C|
Chlorine Trifluoride Structure – ClF3
Physical Properties of Chlorine Trifluoride – ClF3
|Appearance||Pale green-yellow color solid|
|Heavy Atom Count||4|
|Solubility||Soluble in water|
Chemical Properties of Chlorine Trifluoride – ClF3
- Chlorine Trifluoride dissolves in water forms hydrogen fluoride, hydrogen chloride and oxygen. The chemical equation is given below.
ClF3 + 2H2O → 3HF + HCl + O2
- Chlorine Trifluoride reacts with uranium forms Uranium hexafluoride and a interhalogen compound chlorine fluoride. The chemical equation is given below.
U + 3ClF3 → UF6 + 3ClF
Uses of Chlorine Trifluoride – ClF3
- Chlorine trifluoride is used as a fluorinating agent. It may be used as an igniter and propellant in rockets.
- Used in nuclear fuel processing.
- Used as a fluorinating agent, incendiary, igniter and propellant for rockets, in nuclear reactor fuel processing, pyrolysis inhibitor for fluoro carbon polymers.
- Used in nuclear fuel processing to convert uranium into gaseous hexafluoride uranium.