They can also be obtained by a reaction between fluorine and xenon under the influence of sunlight or ultraviolet light. Compounds of fluorine and xenon, for instance, are stable molecules that do not break down on their own, even though they too are very reactive. The fluorine is so reactive that it can even react with noble gases that do not tend to create compounds with any element under standard conditions. The reason for this is that although energy can be produced from their breakdown, no known microorganisms can degrade them, since they are entirely synthetic and do not resemble any naturally occurring materials. The disadvantage of such materials is that they pollute the environment and disintegrate very slowly in nature. Teflon is also a very chemically inert substance, as very few substances interact with it, making it highly durable. This exchange confers Teflon with its useful properties, such as low friction and water resistance – hydrophobicity, making it useful for coating for pots and pans. This has many advantages: for instance, if one takes hydrocarbons - chain molecules of carbon atoms to which only hydrogen atoms are attached - and replaces all hydrogen atoms with fluorine, this results in water repellent materials that can be used for coating to create water-repellent surfaces.Īn example of such a material is Teflon, a very stable substance in which all the hydrogen atoms have been replaced with fluorine. Due to its chemical properties, it tends to create very strong bonds with other elements, and thus compounds containing fluorine tend to be quite stable. Teflon coated cookware | Photo: Shutterstockįluorine creates a wide variety of compounds. The strong bonds create a very stable and water-repellent coating.

It is therefore very difficult to store it in the form of pure gas, and it is found in nature only in the form of a compound with other elements. It reacts with almost any other element - with most elements this occurs immediately at room temperature, while with some – such as gold and other noble metals – it reacts only at higher temperatures. However, it is hardly ever found in this form, as it is the most reactive element in the periodic table. The reason for this is that the nuclear fusion reactions that occur within stars and create heavy elements from light elements produce relatively small amounts of fluorine, compared to the slightly lighter or slightly heavier elements. In addition, unless ejected from the core of the star in which it formed, the fluorine that forms undergoes additional processes that convert it into other elements.įluorine is a non-metal, and under normal pressure and temperature conditions it exists as a yellowish gas of diatomic fluorine molecules (F 2). In fact, being the most electronegative element, fluorine is the atom with the greatest tendency to attract electrons from other elements towards itself.ĭespite being a light element, merely the ninth on the periodic table, fluorine is relatively rare, especially compared to its much more commonly found neighbors carbon, nitrogen and oxygen.

This property, termed electronegativity, common to all members of the halogen group, is especially strong in fluorine. This placement is important, as it implies that fluorine very readily accepts an additional electron from other elements. Somewhere, at the top of the halogen family in the periodic table one finds the element fluorine (F), the lightest member of the halogen group.

Fluorine reactivity with metals