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| Oxygen difluoride | |
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| Other names | difluorine monoxide fluorine monoxide oxygen difluoride oxygen fluoride hypofluorous anhydride |
| Identifiers | |
| CAS number | [7783-41-7] |
| Properties | |
| Molecular formula | OF2 |
| Molar mass | 53.9962 g mol−1 |
| Melting point |
−224 °C |
| Boiling point |
−145 °C |
| Solubility in other solvents | 68 mL gaseous OF2 in 1 L (0 °C)[1] |
| Thermochemistry | |
| Std enthalpy of formation ΔfH |
24.5 kJ mol−1 |
| Related compounds | |
| Related compounds | O2F2 NHF2 NF3 SCl2 |
| Except where noted otherwise, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C, 100 kPa) Infobox references |
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Oxygen difluoride is the chemical compound with the formula OF2. As predicted by VSEPR theory, the molecule adopts a bent structure like H2O, but it has very different properties, being a strong oxidizer.
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Preparation
Oxygen difluoride was first reported in 1929; it was obtained by the electrolysis of molten potassium fluoride and hydrofluoric acid containing small quantities of water.[2][3] The modern preparation entails the reaction of fluorine with a dilute aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide:
- 2F2 + 2NaOH → OF2 + 2NaF + H2O
Reactions
Its powerful oxidizing properties are suggested by the oxidation number of +2 for the oxygen atom, which is unusual. Above 200 °C, OF2 decomposes to oxygen and fluorine via a radical mechanism.
OF2 reacts with many metals to yield oxides and fluorides. Nonmetals also react: phosphorus reacts with OF2 to form PF5 and POF3; sulfur gives SO2 and SF4; and unusually for a noble gas, xenon reacts, yielding XeF4 and xenon oxyfluorides.
Oxygen difluoride reacts very slowly with water to form hydrofluoric acid:
- OF2(aq) + H2O(aq) → 2HF(aq) + O2(g)
Popular culture
In Robert L. Forward's science fiction novel Camelot 30K, oxygen difluoride was used as a biochemical solvent by fictional life forms living in the solar system's Kuiper belt.
Safety
OF2 is a dangerous chemical, as is the case for any strongly oxidizing gas.
References
- ^ Yost, D. M. "Oxygen Fluoride" Inorganic Syntheses, 1939 volume, 1, pages 109-111.
- ^ Paul Lebeau; Damiens, A. "A New Method for the Preparation of the Fluorine Oxide”Compt. rend. 1929, volume 188, 1253-5.
- ^ Lebeau, P.; Damiens, A. "The Existence of an Oxygen Compound of Fluorine"Compt. rend. 1927, volume 185, pages 652-4.
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