Calcium difluoride

  • Formula: CaF2
  • Hill system formula: Ca1F2
  • CAS registry number: [7789-75-5]
  • Formula weight: 78.075
  • Class: fluoride
  • Colour: white
  • Appearance: crystalline solid
  • Melting point: 1418°C
  • Boiling point: 2533°C
  • Density: 3180 kg m-3

The following are some synonyms of calcium difluoride:

  • calcium difluoride
  • calcium(II) fluoride
  • calcium fluoride

The oxidation number of calcium in calcium difluoride is 2.

Synthesis

One way to make small amounts of calcium fluoride is by the neutralisation of chalk with hydrofluoric acid.

CaCO3(s) + 2HF(aq) → CaF2(s) + H2O(l) + CO2(g)

Solid state structure

  • Geometry of calcium: 4 coordinate: tetrahedral
  • Prototypical structure: CaF2 (fluorite)

Crystal structure of calcium difluoride

Element analysis

The table shows element percentages for CaF2 (calcium difluoride).

Element %
Ca 51.33
F 48.67

Isotope pattern for CaF2

The chart below shows the calculated isotope pattern for the formula CaF2 with the most intense ion set to 100%.

References

The data on these compounds pages are assembled and adapted from the primary literature and several other sources including the following.

  • R.T. Sanderson in Chemical Periodicity, Reinhold, New York, USA, 1960.
  • N.N. Greenwood and A. Earnshaw in Chemistry of the Elements, 2nd edition, Butterworth, UK, 1997.
  • F.A. Cotton, G. Wilkinson, C.A. Murillo, and M. Bochmann, in Advanced Inorganic Chemistry, John Wiley & Sons, 1999.
  • A.F. Trotman-Dickenson, (ed.) in Comprehensive Inorganic Chemistry, Pergamon, Oxford, UK, 1973.
  • R.W.G. Wyckoff, in Crystal Structures, volume 1, Interscience, John Wiley & Sons, 1963.
  • A.R.West in Basic solid state chemistry Chemistry, John Wiley & Sons, 1999.
  • A.F. Wells in Structural inorganic chemistry, 4th edition, Oxford, UK, 1975.
  • J.D.H. Donnay, (ed.) in Crystal data determinative tables, ACA monograph number 5, American Crystallographic Association, USA, 1963.
  • D.R. Lide, (ed.) in Chemical Rubber Company handbook of chemistry and physics, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, USA, 77th edition, 1996.
  • J.W. Mellor in A comprehensive treatise on inorganic and theoretical chemistry, volumes 1-16, Longmans, London, UK, 1922-1937.
  • J.E. Macintyre (ed.) in Dictionary of inorganic compounds, volumes 1-3, Chapman & Hall, London, UK, 1992.

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