Octafluoropropane
Octafluoropropane (C3F8) is the perfluorocarbon counterpart to the hydrocarbon propane. This non-flammable synthetic material has applications in semiconductor production and medicine. It is also an extremely potent greenhouse gas.
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Names | |||
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Preferred IUPAC name
Octafluoropropane | |||
Other names
Freon 218 Perfluoropropane RC 218, PFC 218 R-218 Flutec PP30 genetron 218 | |||
Identifiers | |||
3D model (JSmol) |
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ChEBI | |||
ChEMBL | |||
ChemSpider | |||
DrugBank | |||
ECHA InfoCard | 100.000.857 | ||
KEGG | |||
PubChem CID |
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RTECS number |
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UNII | |||
CompTox Dashboard (EPA) |
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Properties | |||
C3F8 | |||
Molar mass | 188.020 g·mol−1 | ||
Appearance | Colorless gas with faintly sweet odor | ||
Density | 8.17 g/L | ||
Melting point | −147.6 °C (−233.7 °F; 125.5 K) | ||
Boiling point | −36.7 °C (−34.1 °F; 236.5 K) | ||
Critical point (T, P) | 345.05 K (71.90 °C), 26.8 bar | ||
Vapor pressure | 792 kPa (21.1 °C)[1] | ||
Thermal conductivity | 13.8 mW/(m·K)[1] | ||
Viscosity | 0.000125 Poise (0 °C)[1] | ||
Structure | |||
0.014 D | |||
Thermochemistry | |||
Heat capacity (C) |
149 J/(mol·K) | ||
Hazards | |||
Occupational safety and health (OHS/OSH): | |||
Main hazards |
Suffocation | ||
GHS labelling: | |||
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H280 | |||
P410+P403 | |||
NFPA 704 (fire diamond) | |||
Flash point | N/A | ||
Related compounds | |||
Related halocarbons |
Tetrafluoromethane Hexafluoroethane | ||
Related compounds |
Propane | ||
Supplementary data page | |||
Octafluoropropane (data page) | |||
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
Infobox references |
Manufacture
Octafluoropropane can be produced either by electrochemical fluorination or by the Fowler process using cobalt fluoride.[2]
Applications
In the electronics industry, octafluoropropane is mixed with oxygen and used as a plasma etching material for SiO2 layers in semiconductor applications, as oxides are selectively etched versus their metal substrates.[3]
In medicine, octafluoropropane may compose the gas cores of microbubble contrast agents used in contrast-enhanced ultrasound. Octafluoropropane microbubbles reflect sound waves well and are used to improve the ultrasound signal backscatter.
It is used in eye surgery, such as pars plana vitrectomy procedures where a retina hole or tear is repaired. The gas provides a long-term tamponade, or plug, of a retinal hole or tear and allows re-attachment of the retina to occur over the several days following the procedure.
Under the name R-218, octafluoropropane is used in other industries as a component of refrigeration mixtures.
It has been featured in some plans for terraforming Mars. With a greenhouse gas effect 24,000 times greater than carbon dioxide (CO2), octafluoropropane could dramatically reduce the time and resources it takes to terraform Mars.[4]
It is the active liquid in PICO-2L dark matter bubble detector (joined PICASSO and COUPP collaborations).
Major hazards
References
- "Encyclopédie des gaz". air liquide. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2008-01-22.
- Fowler RD, Buford III WB, Hamilton Jr JM, Sweet RG, Weber CE, Kasper JS, Litant I (1947). "Synthesis of Fluorocarbons". Ind. Eng. Chem. 39 (3): 292–298. doi:10.1021/ie50447a612.
- Coburn, J. W. (1982). "Plasma-assisted etching". Plasma Chemistry and Plasma Processing. 2 (1): 1–41. doi:10.1007/BF00566856. S2CID 95361338.
- D. Rogers (17–21 October 2005). Studies in the Future of Experimental Terraforming (PDF). 56th International Astronautical Congress of the International Astronautical Federation. Fukuoka, Japan: International Academy of Astronautics, and the International Institute of Space Law.