Fluorine (from Latin Fluorum) F

Fluorite (occurrence: Great Britain, Canada, Switzerland, in Poland it is found near Kletno), apatite (Switzerland, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Bolivia, in Poland near Bielsko-Biała), topaz (Urals, Nigeria, Brazil, in Poland Karkonosze), cryolite (Greenland, Russia, Nigeria).

Yellow-green poisonous gas with a pungent odor that irritates the respiratory tract. It is the most electronegative and most active element in the periodic table and reacts very violently with hydrogen. Due to the fact that it is a gas and does not conduct heat well at room temperature, it can participate in hydrogen bonding. It is a microelement in the human body (its content in dry body weight is less than 0.01%). Fluoride is difficult to store because it is so reactive. For example, hydrofluoric acid (HF) is so corrosive that it dissolves glass. Still, HF is safer and easier to transport and handle than pure fluorine. Hydrogen fluoride is considered a weak acid in low concentrations, but acts as a strong acid in high concentrations.

HF, NaF, KF,OF2, CaF2, SiF4, BrF3

The main method of obtaining fluorine is the electrolysis of potassium fluoride in liquid hydrogen fluoride. Due to the very high chemical activity of fluorine, the number of materials from which equipment for carrying out this reaction can be made is small. The anode is made of carbon and the cathode is made of steel, with Teflon used as electrical insulation. The equipment for this reaction is designed to prevent the fluorine released at the cathode from combining with the hydrogen released at the anode, as this is a highly explosive combination.

Fluoride is commonly used in toothpastes and mouthwashes, as well as in the fluoridation process to prevent and protect against tooth decay. It is also an ingredient of many drugs, especially those used in psychiatry. Fluorine is used in the production of glass and leaded glass. Halogenated plastics are used to impregnate fabrics, which makes them more stain resistant.

The largest producer of fluoride in the world is Canada. Other important producers of this element are: Mexico, Mongolia, Vietnam, South Africa (South Africa), and Spain.

Fluoride can be found in many foods, including drinking water. Most municipalities in the United States add fluoride to their municipal water supplies in an effort to help people with their oral health. Current recommendations for fluoride concentration in water are only 0.7 parts fluorine per million parts of water. However, even at this low concentration, fluoride is helpful in strengthening enamel. Fluorine is the most reactive element on the periodic table and reacts with virtually every element. George Gore managed to isolate fluorine by an electrolytic process in 1869, but the experiment ended in disaster when the fluorine reacted explosively with hydrogen gas. Henri Moisson received the 1906 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for isolating fluorine in 1886. He also used electrolysis to obtain this element, but he separated fluorine gas from hydrogen gas. Fluorine is one of the few elements that can attack diamonds.