Fluorine gas is a chemical element with the symbol F and atomic number 9. It is the lightest gas among the halogen and exists as a highly toxic pale yellow diatomic gas at standard conditions. It is a highly electronegative element, and so it reacts with almost all other elements, except for argon, neon, and helium. Fluorine gas was discovered in 1810 while the name came from primary mineral fluorite. It is dark to pale yellow in color in its different forms. It has 2 allotropes Alpha and beta, 11 isotopes and also is from group 17 halogens. Elemental fluorine is highly toxic to living organisms. Let us start learning the Fluorine gas formula.
Fluorine Gas Formula
 What is Fluorine Gas?
Fluorine is a chemical element that comes in gas form as very pale yellow, in liquid form as bright yellow. In the solid form known as alpha, it is opaque and beta is transparent. Its melting point is (−219.67 °C, −363.41 °F) and the boiling point at (−188.11 °C, −306.60 °F). In 1886 French chemist Henri Moissan was able to isolate elemental fluorine using low-temperature electrolysis.
The fluorine atom has nine electrons, and the electron configuration is 1s \(^{2}2s^{2}2p^{5}\): two electrons are there in the inner shell and seven in an outer shell requiring one more to be filled. Fluorine is a common element in Earth’s crust at 600–700 ppm (parts per million) by mass. Elemental fluorine does not occur naturally. Instead, all fluorine exists as fluoride-containing minerals. Most common among them are Fluorite, fluorapatite, and cryolite which are most used industrially.
Chemical Formula of Fluorine Gas:
Fluorine gas is a univalent poisonous gaseous halogen, and in its elemental form, we denote it by \(F_{2}\). Its atomic mass is 18.998403 u. In nature, fluorine occurs mainly in the minerals fluorspar \(left( CaF_{2} \right\) and cryolite \(left( Na3AlF_{6} \right\). Fluorine is very rich in chemistry, encompassing organic and inorganic domains. It combines with metals, nonmetals, metalloids, and most noble gases. Fluorine is so reactive that glass, metals, and even water, as well as other substances, burn with a bright flame in a jet of fluorine gas.
Most of the fluorine compounds are produced from hydrogen fluoride or its aqueous solutions, hydrofluoric acid. These species are produced by the treatment of fluorite \(left( CaF_{2} \right\) with sulfuric acid.
\(CaF_{2} + H_{2}SO_{4}\rightarrow 2HF + CaSO_{4}\)
Another way is the degradation of hexafluorosilicic acid (H2SiF6), to release HF thermally and by hydrolysis process.
\(H_{2}SiF_{6}\rightarrow 2HF +SiF_{4}\)
\(SiF_{4}+ 2H_{2}O\rightarrow 4HF + SiO_{2}\)
Industrially everywhere Moissan’s method is in follow. This is done by electrolysis of a potassium fluoride/hydrogen fluoride mixture. For lab manufacturing, Karl O. Christe introduced a method where fluorine is at yield.
\(2KMnO_{4}+2KF+10HF+2H_{2}O_{2} \rightarrow    2K_{2}MnF_{6}+8H_{2}O+3O_{2}\)
\(2K_{2}MnF_{6}+4SbF_{5} \rightarrow 4KSbF_{6}+ 2MnF_{3}+F_{2}\)
Application of Fluorine Gas:
 A major application of fluorine gas is in the preparation of UF6 for the nuclear fuel cycle. Fluorine is also useful to fluorinate uranium tetrafluoride. About 6,000 metric tons per year is in use for producing the inert dielectric SF6 for high-voltage transformers and circuit breakers. Sodium fluoride, which is again a compound of fluorine is in use in the toothpaste industry and in drinking water to prevent dental cavities. Hydrofluoric acid dissolves glass and so is in use to etch the glass in light bulbs and in other products. Teflon is also made using fluorine.
Solved Examples
Q.1.What is the balanced equation for aluminum reacts with fluorine?
Ans- \(Al + F_{2} \rightarrow 2FAl  \left ( unbalanced \right )\)
But we have to balance it, hence the actual equation will be,
\(2Al+3F_{2} \rightarrow 2AlF_{3}\)
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