Chemical Properties
Colorless gas.Attacks glass severely
and corrodes quartz.
Physical properties
Colorless gas when pure; often appears bluish because of impurities; density 2.176 g/L; liquefies at -56°C; density of liquid 1.326g/mL at its boiling point; solidifies at -134°C; density of solid 1.719 g/cm
3; reacts with water.
Uses
Oxidizer in rocket propellants; stabilizing agent for liquid SO3; fluorinating agent.
Preparation
Nitrosyl fluoride may be prepared by the reaction of fluorine with nitric oxide:
F
2 + 2NO → 2FNO
Nitrosyl fluoride also can be obtained by heating nitrosyl fluborate, NOBF
4, and sodium fluoride:
NOBF
4 + NaF → NaBF
4 + FNO
Nitrosyl fluoborate required for the above preparation may be obtained by dissolving boric acid in 40% HF, concentrating the solution till it fumes, and purifying the NOBF
4 formed by sublimation in a vacuum.
Nitrosyl fluoride also can be produced by the action of nitrosyl chloride with silver fluoride:
NOCl + AgF → FNO + AgCl
All preparations must be done in complete absence of water.
Hazard
Toxic by inhalation, irritant to skin and
mucous membranes.
Safety Profile
A poison. A severe irritant to skin, eyes, and mucous membranes. Reacts vigorously with glass; corrodes quartz. Explosive reaction with alkenes, oxygen difluoride. Incandescent reaction with metals (e.g., antimony, bismuth,tin, sodium); nonmetals (e.g., a
