Names | |||
---|---|---|---|
IUPAC name Sulfur hexafluoride | |||
Systematic IUPAC name Hexafluoro-λ6-sulfane [1] | |||
Other names Elagas Esaflon | |||
Identifiers | |||
3D model (JSmol) | |||
ChEBI | |||
ChemSpider | |||
ECHA InfoCard | 100.018.050 | ||
EC Number |
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2752 | |||
KEGG | |||
MeSH | Sulfur+hexafluoride | ||
PubChem CID | |||
RTECS number |
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UNII | |||
UN number | 1080 | ||
CompTox Dashboard (EPA) | |||
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Properties | |||
SF6 | |||
Molar mass | 146.05 g·mol−1 | ||
Appearance | Colorless gas | ||
Odor | odorless [2] | ||
Density | 6.17 g/L | ||
Melting point | −64 °C; −83 °F; 209 K | ||
Boiling point | −50.8 °C (−59.4 °F; 222.3 K) | ||
Critical point (T, P) | 45.51±0.1 °C, 3.749±0.01 MPa [3] | ||
0.003% (25 °C) [2] | |||
Solubility | slightly soluble in water, very soluble in ethanol, hexane, benzene | ||
Vapor pressure | 2.9 MPa (at 21.1 °C) | ||
−44.0×10−6 cm3/mol | |||
Thermal conductivity |
| ||
Viscosity | 15.23 μPa·s [5] | ||
Structure | |||
Orthorhombic, oP28 | |||
Oh | |||
Orthogonal hexagonal | |||
Octahedral | |||
0 D | |||
Thermochemistry | |||
Heat capacity (C) | 0.097 kJ/(mol·K) (constant pressure) | ||
Std molar entropy (S⦵298) | 292 J·mol−1·K−1 [6] | ||
Std enthalpy of formation (ΔfH⦵298) | −1209 kJ·mol−1 [6] | ||
Pharmacology | |||
V08DA05 ( WHO ) | |||
License data | |||
Hazards | |||
GHS labelling: [7] | |||
Warning | |||
H280 | |||
P403 | |||
NFPA 704 (fire diamond) | |||
NIOSH (US health exposure limits): | |||
PEL (Permissible) | TWA 1000 ppm (6000 mg/m3) [2] | ||
REL (Recommended) | TWA 1000 ppm (6000 mg/m3) [2] | ||
IDLH (Immediate danger) | N.D. [2] | ||
Safety data sheet (SDS) | External MSDS | ||
Related compounds | |||
Related sulfur fluorides | Disulfur decafluoride | ||
Related compounds | Selenium hexafluoride Sulfuryl fluoride | ||
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa). |
Sulfur hexafluoride or sulphur hexafluoride (British spelling) is an inorganic compound with the formula SF6. It is a colorless, odorless, non-flammable, and non-toxic gas. SF
6 has an octahedral geometry, consisting of six fluorine atoms attached to a central sulfur atom. It is a hypervalent molecule.[ citation needed ]
Typical for a nonpolar gas, SF
6 is poorly soluble in water but quite soluble in nonpolar organic solvents. It has a density of 6.12 g/L at sea level conditions, considerably higher than the density of air (1.225 g/L). It is generally stored and transported as a liquefied compressed gas. [8]
SF
6 has 23,500 times greater global warming potential (GWP) than CO2 as a greenhouse gas (over a 100-year time-frame) but exists in relatively minor concentrations in the atmosphere. Its concentration in Earth's troposphere reached 11.50 parts per trillion (ppt) in October 2023, rising at 0.37 ppt/year. [9] The increase since 1980 is driven in large part by the expanding electric power sector, including fugitive emissions from banks of SF
6 gas contained in its medium- and high-voltage switchgear. Uses in magnesium, aluminium, and electronics manufacturing also hastened atmospheric growth. [10] The 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which came into force in 2005, is supposed to limit emissions of this gas. In a somewhat nebulous way it has been included as part of the carbon emission trading scheme. In some countries this has led to the defunction of entire industries. [11]
Sulfur hexafluoride on Earth exists primarily as a synthetic industrial gas, but has also been found to occur naturally. [12]
SF
6 can be prepared from the elements through exposure of S
8 to F
2. This was the method used by the discoverers Henri Moissan and Paul Lebeau in 1901. Some other sulfur fluorides are cogenerated, but these are removed by heating the mixture to disproportionate any S
2F
10 (which is highly toxic) and then scrubbing the product with NaOH to destroy remaining SF
4 [ clarification needed ]
Alternatively, using bromine, sulfur hexafluoride can be synthesized from SF4 and CoF3 at lower temperatures (e.g. 100 °C), as follows: [13]
There is virtually no reaction chemistry for SF
6. A main contribution to the inertness of SF6 is the steric hindrance of the sulfur atom, whereas its heavier group 16 counterparts, such as SeF6 are more reactive than SF6 as a result of less steric hindrance. [14] It does not react with molten sodium below its boiling point, [15] but reacts exothermically with lithium. As a result of its inertness, SF
6 has an atmospheric lifetime of around 3200 years, and no significant environmental sinks other than the ocean. [16]
By 2000, the electrical power industry is estimated to use about 80% of the sulfur hexafluoride produced, mostly as a gaseous dielectric medium. [17] Other main uses as of 2015 included a silicon etchant for semiconductor manufacturing, and an inert gas for the casting of magnesium. [18]
SF
6 is used in the electrical industry as a gaseous dielectric medium for high-voltage sulfur hexafluoride circuit breakers, switchgear, and other electrical equipment, often replacing oil-filled circuit breakers (OCBs) that can contain harmful polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). SF
6 gas under pressure is used as an insulator in gas insulated switchgear (GIS) because it has a much higher dielectric strength than air or dry nitrogen. The high dielectric strength is a result of the gas's high electronegativity and density. This property makes it possible to significantly reduce the size of electrical gear. This makes GIS more suitable for certain purposes such as indoor placement, as opposed to air-insulated electrical gear, which takes up considerably more room.
Gas-insulated electrical gear is also more resistant to the effects of pollution and climate, as well as being more reliable in long-term operation because of its controlled operating environment. Exposure to an arc chemically breaks down SF
6 though most of the decomposition products tend to quickly re-form SF
6, a process termed "self-healing". [19] Arcing or corona can produce disulfur decafluoride (S
2F
10), a highly toxic gas, with toxicity similar to phosgene. S
2F
10 was considered a potential chemical warfare agent in World War II because it does not produce lacrimation or skin irritation, thus providing little warning of exposure.
SF
6 is also commonly encountered as a high voltage dielectric in the high voltage supplies of particle accelerators, such as Van de Graaff generators and Pelletrons and high voltage transmission electron microscopes.
Alternatives to SF
6 as a dielectric gas include several fluoroketones. [20] [21] Compact GIS technology that combines vacuum switching with clean air insulation has been introduced for a subset of applications up to 420 kV. [22]
SF
6 is used to provide a tamponade or plug of a retinal hole in retinal detachment repair operations [23] in the form of a gas bubble. It is inert in the vitreous chamber. [24] The bubble initially doubles its volume in 36 hours due to oxygen and nitrogen entering it, before being absorbed in the blood in 10–14 days. [25]
SF
6 is used as a contrast agent for ultrasound imaging. Sulfur hexafluoride microbubbles are administered in solution through injection into a peripheral vein. These microbubbles enhance the visibility of blood vessels to ultrasound. This application has been used to examine the vascularity of tumours. [26] It remains visible in the blood for 3 to 8 minutes, and is exhaled by the lungs. [27]
Sulfur hexafluoride was the tracer gas used in the first roadway air dispersion model calibration; this research program was sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and conducted in Sunnyvale, California on U.S. Highway 101. [28] Gaseous SF
6 is used as a tracer gas in short-term experiments of ventilation efficiency in buildings and indoor enclosures, and for determining infiltration rates. Two major factors recommend its use: its concentration can be measured with satisfactory accuracy at very low concentrations, and the Earth's atmosphere has a negligible concentration of SF
6.
Sulfur hexafluoride was used as a non-toxic test gas in an experiment at St John's Wood tube station in London, United Kingdom on 25 March 2007. [29] The gas was released throughout the station, and monitored as it drifted around. The purpose of the experiment, which had been announced earlier in March by the Secretary of State for Transport Douglas Alexander, was to investigate how toxic gas might spread throughout London Underground stations and buildings during a terrorist attack.
Sulfur hexafluoride is also routinely used as a tracer gas in laboratory fume hood containment testing. The gas is used in the final stage of ASHRAE 110 fume hood qualification. A plume of gas is generated inside of the fume hood and a battery of tests are performed while a gas analyzer arranged outside of the hood samples for SF6 to verify the containment properties of the fume hood.
It has been used successfully as a tracer in oceanography to study diapycnal mixing and air-sea gas exchange. [30]
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, SF
6 is the most potent greenhouse gas. Its global warming potential of 23,900 times that of CO
2 when compared over a 100-year period. [43] Sulfur hexafluoride is inert in the troposphere and stratosphere and is extremely long-lived, with an estimated atmospheric lifetime of 800–3,200 years. [44]
Measurements of SF6 show that its global average mixing ratio has increased from a steady base of about 54 parts per quadrillion [12] prior to industrialization, to over 11.5 parts per trillion (ppt) as of October 2023, and is increasing by about 0.4 ppt (3.5%) per year. [9] [45] Average global SF6 concentrations increased by about 7% per year during the 1980s and 1990s, mostly as the result of its use in magnesium production, and by electrical utilities and electronics manufacturers. Given the small amounts of SF6 released compared to carbon dioxide, its overall individual contribution to global warming is estimated to be less than 0.2%, [46] however the collective contribution of it and similar man-made halogenated gases has reached about 10% as of 2020. [47] Alternatives are being tested. [48] [49]
In Europe, SF
6 falls under the F-Gas directive which ban or control its use for several applications. [50] Since 1 January 2006, SF
6 is banned as a tracer gas and in all applications except high-voltage switchgear. [51] It was reported in 2013 that a three-year effort by the United States Department of Energy to identify and fix leaks at its laboratories in the United States such as the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, where the gas is used as a high voltage insulator, had been productive, cutting annual leaks by 1,030 kilograms (2,280 pounds). This was done by comparing purchases with inventory, assuming the difference was leaked, then locating and fixing the leaks. [52]
Sulfur hexafluoride is a nontoxic gas, but by displacing oxygen in the lungs, it also carries the risk of asphyxia if too much is inhaled. [53] Since it is more dense than air, a substantial quantity of gas, when released, will settle in low-lying areas and present a significant risk of asphyxiation if the area is entered. That is particularly relevant to its use as an insulator in electrical equipment since workers may be in trenches or pits below equipment containing SF
6. [54]
As with all gases, the density of SF
6 affects the resonance frequencies of the vocal tract, thus changing drastically the vocal sound qualities, or timbre, of those who inhale it. It does not affect the vibrations of the vocal folds. The density of sulfur hexafluoride is relatively high at room temperature and pressure due to the gas's large molar mass. Unlike helium, which has a molar mass of about 4 g/mol and pitches the voice up, SF
6 has a molar mass of about 146 g/mol, and the speed of sound through the gas is about 134 m/s at room temperature, pitching the voice down. For comparison, the molar mass of air, which is about 80% nitrogen and 20% oxygen, is approximately 30 g/mol which leads to a speed of sound of 343 m/s. [55]
Sulfur hexafluoride has an anesthetic potency slightly lower than nitrous oxide; [56] it is classified as a mild anesthetic. [57]
An electrical insulator is a material in which electric current does not flow freely. The atoms of the insulator have tightly bound electrons which cannot readily move. Other materials—semiconductors and conductors—conduct electric current more easily. The property that distinguishes an insulator is its resistivity; insulators have higher resistivity than semiconductors or conductors. The most common examples are non-metals.
In physics, the term dielectric strength has the following meanings:
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) are fully or partly halogenated hydrocarbons that contain carbon (C), hydrogen (H), chlorine (Cl), and fluorine (F), produced as volatile derivatives of methane, ethane, and propane.
A circuit breaker is an electrical safety device designed to protect an electrical circuit from damage caused by current in excess of that which the equipment can safely carry (overcurrent). Its basic function is to interrupt current flow to protect equipment and to prevent fire. Unlike a fuse, which operates once and then must be replaced, a circuit breaker can be reset to resume normal operation.
In electrical engineering, partial discharge (PD) is a localized dielectric breakdown (DB) of a small portion of a solid or fluid electrical insulation (EI) system under high voltage (HV) stress. While a corona discharge (CD) is usually revealed by a relatively steady glow or brush discharge (BD) in air, partial discharges within solid insulation system are not visible.
An electric arc is an electrical breakdown of a gas that produces a prolonged electrical discharge. The current through a normally nonconductive medium such as air produces a plasma, which may produce visible light. An arc discharge is initiated either by thermionic emission or by field emission. After initiation, the arc relies on thermionic emission of electrons from the electrodes supporting the arc. An arc discharge is characterized by a lower voltage than a glow discharge. An archaic term is voltaic arc, as used in the phrase "voltaic arc lamp".
In an electric power system, a switchgear is composed of electrical disconnect switches, fuses or circuit breakers used to control, protect and isolate electrical equipment. Switchgear is used both to de-energize equipment to allow work to be done and to clear faults downstream. This type of equipment is directly linked to the reliability of the electricity supply.
Isidor Sauers (born 1948) is an Austrian-born American who is a physicist at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. He is a specialist on the properties of Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), with an important patent and over 60 peer-reviewed academic papers.
Disulfur decafluoride is a chemical compound with the formula S2F10. It was discovered in 1934 by Denbigh and Whytlaw-Gray. Each sulfur atom of the S2F10 molecule is octahedral, and surrounded by five fluorine atoms and one sulfur atom. The two sulfur atoms are connected by a single bond. In the S2F10 molecule, the oxidation state of each sulfur atoms is +5, but their valency is 6. S2F10 is highly toxic, with toxicity four times that of phosgene.
A hexafluoride is a chemical compound with the general formula QXnF6, QXnF6m−, or QXnF6m+. Many molecules fit this formula. An important hexafluoride is hexafluorosilicic acid (H2SiF6), which is a byproduct of the mining of phosphate rock. In the nuclear industry, uranium hexafluoride (UF6) is an important intermediate in the purification of this element.
Sulfur hexafluoride circuit breakers protect electrical power stations and distribution systems by interrupting electric currents, when tripped by a protective relay. Instead of oil, air, or a vacuum, a sulfur hexafluoride circuit breaker uses sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) gas to cool and quench the arc on opening a circuit. Advantages over other media include lower operating noise and no emission of hot gases, and relatively low maintenance. Developed in the 1950s and onward, SF6 circuit breakers are widely used in electrical grids at transmission voltages up to 800 kV, as generator circuit breakers, and in distribution systems at voltages up to 35 kV.
A dielectric gas, or insulating gas, is a dielectric material in gaseous state. Its main purpose is to prevent or rapidly quench electric discharges. Dielectric gases are used as electrical insulators in high voltage applications, e.g. transformers, circuit breakers, switchgear, radar waveguides, etc.
A liquid dielectric is a dielectric material in liquid state. Its main purpose is to prevent or rapidly quench electric discharges. Dielectric liquids are used as electrical insulators in high voltage applications, e.g. transformers, capacitors, high voltage cables, and switchgear. Its function is to provide electrical insulation, suppress corona and arcing, and to serve as a coolant.
Insulating glass (IG) consists of two or more glass window panes separated by a space to reduce heat transfer across a part of the building envelope. A window with insulating glass is commonly known as double glazing or a double-paned window, triple glazing or a triple-paned window, or quadruple glazing or a quadruple-paned window, depending upon how many panes of glass are used in its construction.
Fluorinated gases (F-gases) are a group of gases containing fluorine. They are divided into several types, the main of those are hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), sulphur hexafluoride (SF6). They are used in refrigeration, air conditioning, heat pumps, fire suppression, electronics, aerospace, magnesium industry, foam and high voltage switchgear. As they are greenhouse gases with a strong global warming potential, their use is regulated.
The global market for chemicals from fluorine was about US$16 billion per year as of 2006. The industry was predicted to reach 2.6 million metric tons per year by 2015. The largest market is the United States. Western Europe is the second largest. Asia Pacific is the fastest growing region of production. China in particular has experienced significant growth as a fluorochemical market and is becoming a producer of them as well. Fluorite mining was estimated in 2003 to be a $550 million industry, extracting 4.5 million tons per year.
Trifluoromethylsulfur pentafluoride, CF3SF5, is a rarely used industrial greenhouse gas. It was first identified in the atmosphere in 2000. Trifluoromethylsulfur pentafluoride is considered to be one of the several "super-greenhouse gases".
A hybrid switchgear is one that combines the components of traditional air-insulated switchgear (AIS) and SF6 gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) technologies. It is characterized by a compact and modular design, which encompasses several different functions in one module.
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