Thorium(IV) fluoride
Encyclopedia
Thorium fluoride (Th
F4
) is an inorganic chemical compound
. It is a white, hygroscopic powder which can be produced by reacting
thorium with fluorine
gas. At temperatures above 500 °C, it reacts with atmospheric moisture to produce ThOF2.
s, which can be easily stopped by a thin cover layer of another material.
Thorium fluoride was used in manufacturing carbon arc lamps, which provided high-intensity illumination for movie projectors and search lights.
Thorium
Thorium is a natural radioactive chemical element with the symbol Th and atomic number 90. It was discovered in 1828 and named after Thor, the Norse god of thunder....
F4
Fluorine
Fluorine is the chemical element with atomic number 9, represented by the symbol F. It is the lightest element of the halogen column of the periodic table and has a single stable isotope, fluorine-19. At standard pressure and temperature, fluorine is a pale yellow gas composed of diatomic...
) is an inorganic chemical compound
Chemical compound
A chemical compound is a pure chemical substance consisting of two or more different chemical elements that can be separated into simpler substances by chemical reactions. Chemical compounds have a unique and defined chemical structure; they consist of a fixed ratio of atoms that are held together...
. It is a white, hygroscopic powder which can be produced by reacting
Chemical reaction
A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the transformation of one set of chemical substances to another. Chemical reactions can be either spontaneous, requiring no input of energy, or non-spontaneous, typically following the input of some type of energy, such as heat, light or electricity...
thorium with fluorine
Fluorine
Fluorine is the chemical element with atomic number 9, represented by the symbol F. It is the lightest element of the halogen column of the periodic table and has a single stable isotope, fluorine-19. At standard pressure and temperature, fluorine is a pale yellow gas composed of diatomic...
gas. At temperatures above 500 °C, it reacts with atmospheric moisture to produce ThOF2.
Uses
Despite its (mild) radioactivity, thorium fluoride is used as an antireflection material in multilayered optical coatings. It has excellent optical transparency in the range 0.35–12 µm, and its radiation is primarily due to alpha particleAlpha particle
Alpha particles consist of two protons and two neutrons bound together into a particle identical to a helium nucleus, which is classically produced in the process of alpha decay, but may be produced also in other ways and given the same name...
s, which can be easily stopped by a thin cover layer of another material.
Thorium fluoride was used in manufacturing carbon arc lamps, which provided high-intensity illumination for movie projectors and search lights.