Oxygen difluoride

Oxygen difluoride (OF₂) is a pale yellow, highly reactive gas with oxygen bonded to two fluorine atoms. It is a powerful oxidizing and fluorinating agent.

Molecular geometry: The three-dimensional arrangement of atoms in a molecule. OF₂ has a bent molecular shape because oxygen carries two lone electron pairs.
Fluorine: The most electronegative chemical element, a pale yellow gas under standard conditions. Fluorine’s strong attraction for electrons governs bonding and reactivity in OF₂.
Rocket propellant: A fuel or oxidizer used to produce thrust in a rocket engine. OF₂ was investigated as a high-energy oxidizer for propellant systems.
Dioxygen difluoride: A red, unstable compound with formula O₂F₂ and an oxygen–oxygen bond. Adding a second oxygen changes the structure and makes this related fluoride far less stable.
Otto Ruff: A German chemist known for pioneering research on fluorine and its compounds. Ruff’s work helped establish the chemistry of oxygen fluorides.
Oxidizing agent: A substance that accepts electrons from another substance in a redox reaction. OF₂ oxidizes many substances while its oxygen is reduced.
Oxygen: A chemical element that commonly forms the diatomic gas O₂ and supports combustion. Oxygen is the central atom in OF₂, unusually carrying a positive oxidation state.
Chemical vapor deposition: A process that forms a solid film by reacting gaseous precursors at a surface. OF₂ has been used as a fluorinating reagent in specialized vapor-phase processes.
Chlorine trifluoride: A highly reactive interhalogen compound with formula ClF₃. Both are powerful fluorinating agents, but ClF₃ contains only halogens and reacts differently.
Fluorine preparation: Methods for producing elemental fluorine from fluoride-containing materials. Elemental fluorine enabled the controlled synthesis and study of OF₂.

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Hypofluorous acidCompared with: Its fluorine oxidation state is positive, unlike fluorine’s −1 state in HOF.