Argon fluorohydride

Argon fluorohydride (HArF) is a metastable molecule containing hydrogen, argon, and fluorine. It forms when hydrogen fluoride and argon are trapped together in a cryogenic solid-argon matrix.

Matrix isolation: A technique that traps reactive species in a cold, inert solid for spectroscopic study. Solid argon isolates HArF molecules and limits their decomposition.
Leonid Khriachtchev: A chemist known for research on matrix-isolated molecules and noble-gas compounds. He co-led the team that reported HArF in 2000.
Argon: A colorless noble gas with atomic number 18 and a closed-shell electron configuration. Argon's closed shell makes its bonding in HArF unusual.
Argon hydride cation: The molecular ion ArH⁺, consisting of an argon atom bonded to a proton. ArH⁺ is ionic, whereas HArF is a neutral molecule containing fluorine.
Hydrogen fluoride: A hydrogen halide composed of hydrogen and fluorine, with formula HF. HF supplies the hydrogen and fluorine atoms incorporated into HArF.
Mika Pettersson: A chemist whose research includes spectroscopy of matrix-isolated molecules. He co-authored the first report identifying HArF.
Hydrogen: The chemical element with atomic number 1, commonly found as diatomic H₂. A hydrogen atom occupies the central position in the H–Ar–F framework.
Hydrogen chloride: A hydrogen halide with formula HCl that forms a stable diatomic molecule under ordinary conditions. HCl is stable without a cryogenic argon matrix, unlike HArF.
Noble-gas compound: A chemical compound containing at least one noble-gas element. HArF is a rare example of a compound formed by argon.
Markku Räsänen: A Finnish chemist known for studies of reactive molecules isolated in noble-gas matrices. His group produced and characterized HArF in a solid-argon matrix.

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Argon compoundsBroader topic: It is the first neutral compound reported with a chemical bond between argon and another element.