Argon fluorohydride
Encyclopedia
Argon fluorohydride is the first known compound of the chemical element
argon
.
compound is credited to a group of Finnish scientists, led by Markku Räsänen. On 24 August 2000, in the journal Nature
, they announced their discovery of argon fluorohydride.
on a caesium iodide
surface at −265 °C, and exposing the mixture to ultraviolet radiation. This caused the gases to combine.
The infrared spectrum
of the resulting gas mixture shows that it definitely contains chemical bonds, albeit very weak ones; thus, it is argon hydrofluoride. Its chemical bonds are only stable if the substance is kept at temperatures below −256 °C; upon warming, it decomposes into argon and hydrogen fluoride.
Chemical element
A chemical element is a pure chemical substance consisting of one type of atom distinguished by its atomic number, which is the number of protons in its nucleus. Familiar examples of elements include carbon, oxygen, aluminum, iron, copper, gold, mercury, and lead.As of November 2011, 118 elements...
argon
Argon
Argon is a chemical element represented by the symbol Ar. Argon has atomic number 18 and is the third element in group 18 of the periodic table . Argon is the third most common gas in the Earth's atmosphere, at 0.93%, making it more common than carbon dioxide...
.
Discovery
The discovery of this first argonArgon
Argon is a chemical element represented by the symbol Ar. Argon has atomic number 18 and is the third element in group 18 of the periodic table . Argon is the third most common gas in the Earth's atmosphere, at 0.93%, making it more common than carbon dioxide...
compound is credited to a group of Finnish scientists, led by Markku Räsänen. On 24 August 2000, in the journal Nature
Nature (journal)
Nature, first published on 4 November 1869, is ranked the world's most cited interdisciplinary scientific journal by the Science Edition of the 2010 Journal Citation Reports...
, they announced their discovery of argon fluorohydride.
Synthesis
This chemical was synthesized by mixing argon and hydrogen fluorideHydrogen fluoride
Hydrogen fluoride is a chemical compound with the formula HF. This colorless gas is the principal industrial source of fluorine, often in the aqueous form as hydrofluoric acid, and thus is the precursor to many important compounds including pharmaceuticals and polymers . HF is widely used in the...
on a caesium iodide
Caesium iodide
Caesium iodide is an ionic compound often used as the input phosphor of an x-ray image intensifier tube found in fluoroscopy equipment....
surface at −265 °C, and exposing the mixture to ultraviolet radiation. This caused the gases to combine.
The infrared spectrum
Infrared spectroscopy
Infrared spectroscopy is the spectroscopy that deals with the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum, that is light with a longer wavelength and lower frequency than visible light. It covers a range of techniques, mostly based on absorption spectroscopy. As with all spectroscopic...
of the resulting gas mixture shows that it definitely contains chemical bonds, albeit very weak ones; thus, it is argon hydrofluoride. Its chemical bonds are only stable if the substance is kept at temperatures below −256 °C; upon warming, it decomposes into argon and hydrogen fluoride.