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Generation of Elemental Fluorine through the Electrolysis of Copper Difluoride at Room Temperature
Author(s) -
Matsumoto Kazuhiko,
Shima Keita,
Sugimoto Takuya,
Inoue Takahiro,
Hagiwara Rika
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.202016463
Subject(s) - electrolysis , anode , fluorine , halide , graphite , molten salt , materials science , carbon fibers , chemical engineering , inorganic chemistry , chemistry , metallurgy , electrode , electrolyte , composite material , composite number , engineering
The safe generation of F 2 gas at room temperature by using simple cell configurations has been the “holy grail” of fluorine research for centuries. Thus, to address this issue, we report generation of F 2 gas through the electrolysis of CuF 2 in a CsF‐2.45HF molten salt without the evolution of H 2 gas. The CuF 2 is selected through a series of thermodynamic and kinetic assessments of possible metal fluorides. Anode assessments on graphite and glass‐like carbon demonstrate the effect of the absence of the anode during generation of F 2 gas owing to stabilized operations at room temperature. Although the Ni anode dissolves during electrolysis in the conventional medium‐temperature cell, herein, it facilitates stable electrolysis over 100 h, achieving an F 2 gas purity of over 99 % with the potential to operate using one‐compartment electrolysis. This work presents a safe and propitious method for the generation of high‐purity F 2 gas for small‐scale lab and industrial applications.