Discovery date : 1886
Discovered by: Henri Moissan
Origin of the name: The name is derived form the Latin 'fluere', meaning to flow
Allotropes : F2
~>FLUORINE is a chemical element with symbol F and atomic number 9. It is the lightest halogen and exists as a highly toxic pale yellow diatomic gas at standard conditions.
| FACT BOX | |||
| Group | 17 | Melting point | −219.67°C, −363.41°F, 53.48 K |
| Period | 2 | Boiling point | −188.11°C, −306.6°F, 85.04 K |
| Block | p | Density (g cm−3) | 0.001553 |
| Atomic number | 9 | Relative atomic mass | 18.998 |
| State at 20°C | Gas | Key isotopes | 19F |
| Electron configuration | [He] 2s22p5 | CAS number | 7782-41-4 |
| ChemSpider ID | 4514530 | ChemSpider is a free chemical structure database | |
The early chemists were aware that metal fluorides contained an unidentified element similar to chlorine, but they could not isolate it. (The French scientist, André Ampère coined the name fluorine in 1812.) Even the great Humphry Davy was unable to produce the element, and he became ill by trying to isolate it from hydrofluoric acid.
The British chemist George Gore in 1869 passed an electric current through liquid HF but found that the gas which was liberated reacted violently with his apparatus. He thought it was fluorine but was unable to collect it and prove it. Then in 1886 the French chemist Henri Moissan obtained it by the electrolysis of potassium bifluoride (KHF2) dissolved in liquid HF.