halomethane
Sign in to savealt=Molecule of methane. |thumb|A methane [[molecule in 3D space filling model.]] Halomethane compounds are derivatives of methane () with one or more of the hydrogen atoms replaced with halogen atoms (F, Cl, Br, or I). Halomethanes are both naturally occurring, especially in marine environments, and human-made, most notably as refrigerants, solvents, propellants, and fumigants. Many, including the chlorofluorocarbons, have attracted wide attention because they become active when exposed to ultraviolet light found at high altitudes and destroy the Earth's protective ozone layer.
Article
17 sectionsContents
- Structure and properties
- Production
- Industrial routes
- In nature
- Classes of compounds
- ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 34-1992
- Hydrofluoro compounds (HFC) {{anchor|HFC}}
- Overview of principal halomethanes
- Applications
- Solvents
- Propellants
- Fire extinguishing
- Chemical building blocks
- Safety
- See also
- References
- External links
alt=Molecule of methane. |thumb|A methane [[molecule in 3D space filling model.]] Halomethane compounds are derivatives of methane () with one or more of the hydrogen atoms replaced with halogen atoms (F, Cl, Br, or I). Halomethanes are both naturally occurring, especially in marine environments, and human-made, most notably as refrigerants, solvents, propellants, and fumigants. Many, including the chlorofluorocarbons, have attracted wide attention because they become active when exposed to ultraviolet light found at high altitudes and destroy the Earth's protective ozone layer.
==Structure and properties== Like methane itself, halomethanes are tetrahedral molecules. The halogen atoms differ greatly in size and charge from hydrogen and from each other. Consequently, most halomethanes deviate from the perfect tetrahedral symmetry of methane.