Hydrogen fluoride

Description

Hydrofluoric acid is a solution of hydrogen fluoride in water. Hydrofluoric acid is highly corrosive inorganic acid. It is utilized widely in the manufacture of ceramics and graphite, in the electropolishing and pickling of metals, in the etching and frosting of glass, in the semiconductor industry as etchant and cleaning agent, in the chemical and oil-refining industries, and in cleaning solutions, laundry powder and pesticides. Hydrofluoric acid is also widely used in the preparation of many useful fluorine compounds, such as Teflon, Freon, fluorocarbons, and many medications such as fluoxetine (Prozac).

Description

Hydrogen fluoride (HF) is an extremely toxic, corrosive gas and liquid. As the lightest of the hydrogen halides, it has a surprisingly high boiling point, higher even than that of hydrogen iodide. The reason is the strong electronegativity of the fluorine atom, which causes hydrogen and fluorine atoms to form hydrogen bonds in the liquid phase.1 The other hydrogen halides are connected by much weaker van der Waals forces.

The Uses of Hydrogen fluoride

Hydrofluoric acid is used as a fluorinatingagent, as a catalyst, and in uranium refining.It is also used for etching glass and forpickling stainless steel. Hydrogen fluoridegas is produced when an inorganic fluoride is distilled with concentrated sulfuricacid.

Background

Hydrogen fluoride (Hydrofluoric acid) is a weak acid that is a precursor to almost all fluorine compounds, including pharmaceuticals such as Fluoxetine (Prozac). It is used as a chemical reagent in several industrial processes such as oil refinery. It is also used as etchant, cleaning agent, and a reagent to dissolve oxides and silicates.

Metabolism

Not Available