Trace Determination and Pressure Estimation of Fluorine F2 Caused by Irradiation Damage in Minerals and Synthetic Fluorides

Vinicius R Celinski; Michael Ditter; Florian Kraus; Franz Fujara; Jörn Schmedt Auf der Günne

doi:10.1002/chem.201603402

Trace Determination and Pressure Estimation of Fluorine F₂ Caused by Irradiation Damage in Minerals and Synthetic Fluorides

Chemistry. 2016 Dec 19;22(51):18388-18393. doi: 10.1002/chem.201603402. Epub 2016 Oct 4.

Authors

Vinicius R Celinski¹, Michael Ditter², Florian Kraus³, Franz Fujara², Jörn Schmedt Auf der Günne¹

Affiliations

¹ Department für Chemie und Biologie, Universität Siegen, Adolf-Reichwein-Straße 2, 57080, Siegen, Germany.
² Fachbereich Physik, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Hochschulstraße 6, 64289, Darmstadt, Germany.
³ Fachbereich Chemie, Phillipps-Universität Marburg, Hans-Meerwein-Straße 4, 35032, Marburg, Germany.

PMID: 27527834
DOI: 10.1002/chem.201603402

Abstract

Irradiated alkali and earth alkali halides can form metal colloids and halogen molecules, which stay trapped inside the crystal. In this paper we provide ¹⁹ F NMR spectroscopic evidence of trapped F₂ fluids in heavy ion-bombarded synthesized LiF crystals as well as in a variety of the mineral Villiaumite (NaF). This is the 2nd mineral in which F₂ is unambiguously detected in nature. The trace quantification of the latter is in the order of magnitude of 10^-6 mol g^-1 . Pressures and densities of the F₂ fluids are estimated based on the theory of nuclear spin relaxation in dilute gases.

Keywords: NMR spectroscopy; double-quantum excitation; fluorine; radiation damage; relaxation.