Octafluoropropane

Octafluoropropane (C3F8) is the perfluorocarbon counterpart to the hydrocarbon propane. This non-flammable synthetic material has applications in semiconductor production and medicine. It is also an extremely potent greenhouse gas.

Octafluoropropane
Structural formula of octafluoropropane
Ball-and-stick model of octafluoropropane
Names
IUPAC name
Octafluoropropane
Other names
Freon 218
Perfluoropropane
RC 218, PFC 218
R218
Flutec PP30
genetron 218
Identifiers
3D model (JSmol)
ChEBI
ChEMBL
ChemSpider
DrugBank
ECHA InfoCard 100.000.857
KEGG
RTECS number
  • TZ5255000
UNII
Properties
C3F8
Molar mass 188.02 g/mol
Appearance Colorless gas with
faintly sweet odor
Density 8.17 g/l, gas
Melting point −183 °C (−297.4 °F; 90.1 K)
Boiling point −36.7 °C (−34.1 °F; 236.5 K)
Structure
0.014 D
Hazards
Main hazards Suffocation
Safety data sheet See: data page
GHS pictograms
H280
P410+403
NFPA 704 (fire diamond)
Flammability code 0: Will not burn. E.g. waterHealth code 1: Exposure would cause irritation but only minor residual injury. E.g. turpentineReactivity code 0: Normally stable, even under fire exposure conditions, and is not reactive with water. E.g. liquid nitrogenSpecial hazards (white): no code
0
1
0
Flash point N/A
Related compounds
Related halocarbons
Tetrafluoromethane
Hexafluoroethane
Related compounds
Propane
Supplementary data page
Refractive index (n),
Dielectric constantr), etc.
Thermodynamic
data
Phase behaviour
solidliquidgas
UV, IR, NMR, MS
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
N verify (what is YN ?)
Infobox references

Manufacture

Octafluoropropane can be produced either by electrochemical fluorination or by the Fowler process using cobalt fluoride.[1]

Applications

In the electronics industry, octafluoropropane is mixed with oxygen and used as a plasma etching material for SiO2 layers in semiconductor applications, as oxides are selectively etched versus their metal substrates.[2]

In medicine, octafluoropropane may compose the gas cores of microbubble contrast agents used in contrast-enhanced ultrasound. Octafluoropropane microbubbles reflect sound waves well and are used to improve the ultrasound signal backscatter.

It is used in eye surgery, such as pars plana vitrectomy procedures where a retina hole or tear is repaired. The gas provides a long-term tamponade, or plug, of a retinal hole or tear and allows re-attachment of the retina to occur over the several days following the procedure.

Under the name R-218, octafluoropropane is used in other industries as a component of refrigeration mixtures.

It has been featured in some plans for terraforming Mars. With a greenhouse gas effect 24,000 times greater than carbon dioxide (CO2), octafluoropropane could dramatically reduce the time and resources it takes to terraform Mars.[3]

It is the active liquid in PICO-2L dark matter bubble detector (joined PICASSO and COUPP collaborations).

Liquid phase

  • Liquid density (1.013 bar at boiling point) : 1601 kg/m3
  • Liquid/gas equivalent (1.013 bar and 15 °C (59 °F)) : 196 vol/vol
  • Latent heat of vaporization (1.013 bar at boiling point) : 104.25 kJ/kg[4]

Gaseous phase

  • Gas density (1.013 bar at boiling point) : 10.3 kg/m3
  • Gas density (1.013 bar and 15 °C (59 °F)) : 8.17 kg/m3
  • Compressibility Factor (Z) (1.013 bar and 15 °C (59 °F)) : 0.975
  • Specific gravity (air = 1) (1.013 bar and 21 °C (70 °F)) : 6.683
  • Specific volume (1.013 bar and 21 °C (70 °F)) : 0.125 m3/kg
  • Viscosity (1.013 bar and 0 °C (32 °F)) : 0.000125 Poise
  • Thermal conductivity (1.013 bar and 0 °C (32 °F)) : 12.728 mW/(m·K)
  • Thermal Conductivity, Gas @ 101.325 kPa and 25 °C: 13.8 mW/(m·K)
  • Vapour Pressure @ 21.1 °C: 792 kPa[4]

Major hazards

References

  1. Fowler RD, Buford III WB, Hamilton Jr JM, Sweet RG, Weber CE, Kasper JS, Litant I (1947). "Synthesis of Fluorocarbons". Ind. Eng. Chem. 39 (3): 292–298. doi:10.1021/ie50447a612.
  2. Coburn, J. W. (1982). "Plasma-assisted etching". Plasma Chemistry and Plasma Processing. 2 (1): 1–41. doi:10.1007/BF00566856.
  3. D. Rogers (17–21 October 2005). Studies in the Future of Experimental Terraforming (PDF). 56th International Astronautical Congress of the International Astronautical Federation. Fukuoka, Japan: International Academy of Astronautics, and the International Institute of Space Law.
  4. "Encyclopédie des gaz". air liquide.
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