Concept
Hexafluoroethane
Related concepts (5)
Greenhouse gas
Greenhouse gases are those gases in the atmosphere that raise the surface temperature of planets such as the Earth. What distinguishes them from other gases is that they absorb the wavelengths of radiation that a planet emits, resulting in the greenhouse effect. The Earth is warmed by sunlight, causing its surface to radiate heat, which is then mostly absorbed by water vapor (), carbon dioxide (), methane (), nitrous oxide (), and ozone (). Without greenhouse gases, the average temperature of Earth's surface would be about , rather than the present average of .
Nitrogen trifluoride
Nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) is an inorganic, colorless, non-flammable, toxic gas with a slightly musty odor. It finds increasing use within the manufacturing of flat-panel displays, photovoltaics, LEDs and other microelectronics. Nitrogen trifluoride is also an extremely strong and long-lived greenhouse gas. Its atmospheric burden exceeded 2 parts per trillion during 2019 and has doubled every five years since the late 20th century. Nitrogen trifluoride did not exist in significant quantities on Earth prior to its synthesis by humans.
Carbon tetrafluoride
Tetrafluoromethane, also known as carbon tetrafluoride or R-14, is the simplest perfluorocarbon (CF4). As its IUPAC name indicates, tetrafluoromethane is the perfluorinated counterpart to the hydrocarbon methane. It can also be classified as a haloalkane or halomethane. Tetrafluoromethane is a useful refrigerant but also a potent greenhouse gas. It has a very high bond strength due to the nature of the carbon–fluorine bond.
Fluorocarbon
Fluorocarbons are chemical compounds with carbon-fluorine bonds. Compounds that contain many C-F bonds often have distinctive properties, e.g., enhanced stability, volatility, and hydrophobicity. Several fluorocarbons and their derivatives are commercial polymers, refrigerants, drugs, and anesthetics. Perfluorocarbons or PFCs, are organofluorine compounds with the formula CxFy, i.e., they contain only carbon and fluorine. The terminology is not strictly followed and many fluorine-containing organic compounds are called fluorocarbons.
Global warming potential
Global warming potential (GWP) is a measure of how much infrared thermal radiation a greenhouse gas added to the atmosphere would absorb over a given time frame, as a multiple of the radiation that would be absorbed by the same mass of added carbon dioxide (). GWP is 1 for . For other gases it depends on how strongly the gas absorbs infrared thermal radiation, how quickly the gas leaves the atmosphere, and the time frame being considered. The carbon dioxide equivalent (e or eq or -e) is calculated from GWP.