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.

Octafluoropropane
Structural formula of octafluoropropane
Ball-and-stick model of octafluoropropane
Names
Preferred IUPAC name
Octafluoropropane
Other names
Freon 218
Perfluoropropane
RC 218, PFC 218
R-218
Flutec PP30
genetron 218
Identifiers
3D model (JSmol)
ChEBI
ChEMBL
ChemSpider
DrugBank
ECHA InfoCard 100.000.857
KEGG
RTECS number
  • TZ5255000
UNII
  • InChI=1S/C3F8/c4-1(5,2(6,7)8)3(9,10)11 checkY
    Key: QYSGYZVSCZSLHT-UHFFFAOYSA-N checkY
  • InChI=1/C3F8/c4-1(5,2(6,7)8)3(9,10)11
    Key: QYSGYZVSCZSLHT-UHFFFAOYAL
  • FC(F)(F)C(F)(F)C(F)(F)F
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
149 J/(mol·K)
Hazards
Occupational safety and health (OHS/OSH):
Main hazards
 Suffocation
GHS labelling:
GHS04: Compressed Gas
H280
P410+P403
NFPA 704 (fire diamond)
NFPA 704 four-colored diamond
1
0
0
SA
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).
☒N verify (what is checkY☒N ?)
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
  1. "Encyclopédie des gaz". air liquide. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2008-01-22.
  2. 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.
  3. Coburn, J. W. (1982). "Plasma-assisted etching". Plasma Chemistry and Plasma Processing. 2 (1): 1–41. doi:10.1007/BF00566856. S2CID 95361338.
  4. 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.
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