Atomic number 9
Fluorine
Halogen
In the real world


Quick facts
- Atomic mass
- 18.998
- Group
- 17
- Period
- 2
- State (STP)
- gas
- Electronegativity
- 3.98
- Common ox. states
- -1
Properties
[He] 2s² 2p⁵
- Ionization energy
- 1681.0 kJ/mol
- Electron affinity
- 328.0 kJ/mol
- Melting point
- 53.48 K (-219.7 °C)
- Boiling point
- 85.03 K (-188.1 °C)
How dangerous is it?
The most aggressive element on the table. This pale-yellow gas attacks almost everything it touches, setting many materials alight.
- CorrosiveImmediate
It burns skin, eyes, and lungs on contact, and keeps attacking deeper into tissue.
Moved only through sealed metal pipes inside a fume hood, behind a full face shield.
- OxidizerImmediate
Such a strong oxidizer that it can set fire to materials that normally never burn.
Stored well away from anything flammable, with special grease-free fittings.
How it bonds
Fluorine is the most electronegative element. It forms exactly one bond - single, terminal, never a double - and keeps 3 lone pairs. Bonds to fluorine are short and strong; the C–F bond is one of the strongest in organic chemistry. Watch for the trap: fluorine never has a positive oxidation state. Period.


