Hydrogen fluoride
chemical compound
Hydrogen fluoride is an inorganic compound with chemical formula HF. It is a colorless gas or liquid that dissolves in water to yield hydrofluoric acid and fumes strongly in air (hydrofluoric acid fumes rising being lighter than air). It is the principal industrial source of fluorine, often in the form of hydrofluoric acid, and is an important feedstock in the preparation of many important compounds including pharmaceuticals and polymers such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). HF is also widely used in the petrochemical industry as a component of superacids. Due to strong and extensive hydrogen bonding, it boils near room temperature, a much higher temperature than other hydrogen halides.
Hydrogen fluoride is an extremely dangerous gas. It readily forms the highly corrosive hydrofluoric acid upon contact with moisture. The gas can also cause blindness by rapid destruction of the corneas.
History
In 1771 Carl Wilhelm Scheele prepared the aqueous solution, hydrofluoric acid, in large quantities, although hydrofluoric acid had been known in the glass industry before then. French chemist Edmond Frémy (1814–1894) is credited with discovering hydrogen fluoride while trying to isolate fluorine.
Structure and reactions
HF is diatomic in the gas phase, consisting of separate molecules.
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Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2468. The Library of Congress control number is sh85063425. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1771, 1814 and 1894.
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This entry incorporates text from “Hydrogen fluoride” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.