chemistry

Trichlorofluoromethane

Trichlorofluoromethane is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Trichlorofluoromethane rather than just read about it. In short: Trichlorofluoromethane, also called freon-11, CFC-11, or R-11, is a chlorofluorocarbon (CFC). It is a colorless, faintly ethereal, and sweetish-smelling liquid that boils around room temperature.

Key takeaways

Trichlorofluoromethane belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Trichlorofluoromethane to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Trichlorofluoromethane from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Trichlorofluoromethane, also called freon-11, CFC-11, or R-11, is a chlorofluorocarbon (CFC). It is a colorless, faintly ethereal, and sweetish-smelling liquid that boils around room temperature. CFC-11 is a Class 1 ozone-depleting substance which damages Earth's protective stratospheric ozone layer. R-11 is not flammable at ambient temperature and pressure but it can become very combustible if heated and ignited by a strong ignition source.

Historical use Trichlorofluoromethane was first widely used as a refrigerant. Because of its high boiling point compared to most refrigerants, it can be used in systems with a low operating pressure, making the mechanical design of such systems less demanding than that of higher-pressure refrigerants R-12 or R-22. Trichlorofluoromethane is used as a reference compound for fluorine-19 NMR studies. Trichlorofluoromethane was formerly used in the drinking bird novelty, largely because it has a boiling point of 23.77 °C (74.79 °F). The replacement, dichloromethane, boiling point 39.6 °C (103.3 °F), requires a higher ambient temperature to work. Trichlorofluoromethane was also used as an alternative to the flammable solvents ethanol or methanol in electronic spirit duplicator machines. Prior to the knowledge of the ozone depletion potential of chlorine in refrigerants and other possible harmful effects on the environment, trichlorofluoromethane was sometimes used as a cleaning/rinsing agent for low-pressure systems.

Production Trichlorofluoromethane can be obtained by reacting carbon tetrachloride with hydrogen fluoride at 435 °C and 70 atm, producing a mixture of trichlorofluoromethane, tetrafluoromethane and dichlorodifluoromethane in a ratio of 77:18:5. The reaction can also be carried out in the presence of antimony(III) chloride or antimony(V) chloride:

CCl4 + HF → CCl3F + CF4 + CCl2F2 Trichlorofluoromethane is also formed as one of the byproducts when graphite reacts with chlorine and hydrogen fluoride at 500 °C. Sodium hexafluorosilicate under pressure at 270 °C, titanium(IV) fluoride, chlorine trifluoride, cobalt(III) fluoride, iodine pentafluoride, and bromine trifluoride are also suitable fluorinating agents for carbon tetrachloride.

CCl4 + Na2SiF6 → CCl3F + CCl2F2 + CCl3F + NaCl + SiF4 CCl4 + BrF3 → BrF + CCl2F2 + CCl3F Trichlorofluoromethane was included in the production moratorium in the Montreal Protocol of 1987. It is assigned an ozone depletion potential of 1.0, and U.S. production was ended on January 1, 1996.

Regulatory challenges In 2018, the atmospheric concentration of CFC-11 was noted by researchers to be declining more slowly than expected, and it subsequently emerged that it remains in widespread use as a blowing agent for polyurethane foam insulation in the construction industry of China. In 2021, researchers announced that emissions declined by 20,000 U.S. tons from 2018 to 2019, which mostly reversed the previous spike in emissions. In 2022, the European Commission announced an updated regulation that mandates the recovery and prevention of emissions of CFC-11 blowing agents from foam insulation in demolition waste, which is still emitted at significant scale.

Dangers R11, like most chlorofluorocarbons, forms phosgene gas when exposed to a naked flame.

Use in Planetary Astrophysics Because trichlorofluoromethane is one of the easiest to detect chlorofluorocarbons produced by anthropogenic activity, it has been used in attempting to detect industrial pollution in the atmospheres of earth-like exoplanets.

Gallery

See also List of refrigerants IPCC list of greenhouse gases 1,1,2-Trichloro-1,2,2-trifluoroethane

References

External links CFC-11 NOAA/ESRL Global measurements Public health goal for trichlorofluoromethane in drinking water Names at webbook.nist.gov Data sheet at speclab.com Archived 2007-06-09 at the Wayback Machine International Chemical Safety Card 0047 NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards. "#0290". National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Phase change data at webbook.nist.gov Thermochemistry data at chemnet.ru ChemSub Online: Trichlorofluoromethane - CFC-11 materialsproject.org

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Trichlorofluoromethane

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Trichlorofluoromethane claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Trichlorofluoromethane before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Trichlorofluoromethane ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Trichlorofluoromethane

In research: Trichlorofluoromethane appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Trichlorofluoromethane in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Trichlorofluoromethane is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Chlorofluoroalkanes, Chlorofluorocarbons, Greenhouse gases, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Trichlorofluoromethane outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Trichlorofluoromethane in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Trichlorofluoromethane means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Trichlorofluoromethane out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Trichlorofluoromethane in simple terms?

Trichlorofluoromethane, also called freon-11, CFC-11, or R-11, is a chlorofluorocarbon (CFC). It is a colorless, faintly ethereal, and sweetish-smelling liquid that boils around room temperature.

Why does Trichlorofluoromethane matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Trichlorofluoromethane?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Trichlorofluoromethane.