Advantages And Disadvantages Of Fluorine

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Fluorine is a corrosive, pale yellow gas and is the smallest of the Halogen group but also the element with the highest electronegativity in the Periodic Table. With such a high electronegativity it makes fluorine the most reactive of all of the elements. The high electronegativity of fluorine is beneficial in several goods, for example; polymers, toothpastes, pesticides, cancer drugs, and antibiotics. Fluorochloro-hydrocarbons are widely used in air conditioners and refrigerators, and have been associated with the vanishing of the ozone layer (Stillinger, 1988). Teflon, the non-stick polymer, is a series of carbon-fluorine chains. Some fluoride salts are useful in the metal industry, especially in the production of aluminum and uranium. Fluorine …show more content…

Fluorine is found in the minerals fluorspar (CaF2) and cryolite (Na3AlF6) (McQuarrie, 2007). Fluorine toughens the crystalline structure of bones and teeth, making them far less prone to breakage or decay, hence why it is a main ingredient in toothpaste. Some cities put fluorine salts into the water system to help keep the population safe from tooth decay.
Chlorine is a caustic, green and yellow gas that is attained by the electrolysis of sodium chloride solutions. Chlorine salt is found in salt water such as seas, oceans and salt water lakes and in various minerals. The most common mineral of chlorine is the halite (sodium chloride) (McQuarrie, 2007). Similar to fluorine chlorine salts (halides) are beneficial to the human body. A muriatic acid, hydrochloric acid (HCl), is used in the stomach for digestion and the chlorine ion (Chloride, Cl-) is an electrolyte that the body utilizes to send electrical impulses.
There are many uses for chlorine which is why over nine-hundred thousand tons are produced in the United States annually. There is so much produced because of all the uses, household and industrial bleach, production of solvents, paper products, dyes, textiles, medicines, insecticides, paints, refrigerants and plastics, particularly the plastic polyvinyl chloride (PVC), extractor for metal ions in compounds, and disinfection for water systems …show more content…

At room temperature iodine is solid and gray but when heated iodine transfers straight from a gray solid to a violet purple gas. Iodine is found primarily in seawater, sea weed, old salt brines and salt wells, and costal sand and nitrate deposits. Iodine is formed similar to bromine; chlorine oxidizes the iodide ion (I-) found in seaweed into iodine (I) (McQuarrie, 2007). Silver iodide (AgI) and calcium diiodate (Ca(IO3)2) are the most common minerals of iodine. Although pure iodine is toxic, elemental iodine is combined with potassium or sodium to create medicines and surgical antiseptics (Black, 2001). Silver iodide (AgI) is used in chemicals of dark room photography and in cloud seeding, and iodine is added to table salt. Like fluorine and chlorine iodine is essential to the human body. Iodine is a plays a key role in the function of thyroid hormones. An iodine deficiency will cause goiter, a thyroid deficiency disease where there is swelling of the neck due to an enlarged thyroid gland. The thyroid gland enlarges in order to produce more iodine. This can be treated with potassium iodide (KI).
Astatine was not featured in the Interchapter but it is considered part of the halogen group. Astatine is a dark colored, metallic solid. Astatine is highly radioactive and is produced synthetically by blasting bismuth (Bi) with alpha particles, it can be obtained naturally from thorium (Th) or uranium (U) decay (David, 2013). The most stable

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