chlorine trifluoride

noun

A poisonous gaseous binary compound, ClF₃, of chlorine and fluorine.

Meanings

nounchlorine trifluoride (uncountable)
  1. uncountablechemistryA poisonous gaseous binary compound, ClF₃, of chlorine and fluorine.
    1 more example

    Chlorine trifluoride, ClF₃, or "CTF" as the engineers insist on calling it, is a colorless gas, a greenish liquid, or a white solid. It boils at 12° (so that a trivial pressure will keep it liquid at room temperature) and freezes at a convenient —76°... It is also quite probably the most vigorous fluorinating agent in existence—much more vigorous than fluorine itself... It is, of course, extremely toxic, but that's the least of the problem. It is hypergolic with every known fuel, and so rapidly hypergolic that no ignition delay has ever been measured. It is also hypergolic with such things as cloth, wood, and test engineers, not to mention asbestos, sand, and water—with which it reacts explosively.

    1972, John Drury Clark, Ignition!, page 73

Translations

Polish trifluorek chloru
  • trifluorek chlorugaseous compound
Swedish klortrifluorid
  • klortrifluoridgaseous compound
Cite this entry
APA

chlorine trifluoride. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chlorine%20trifluoride

MLA

“chlorine trifluoride.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chlorine%20trifluoride. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “chlorine trifluoride,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chlorine%20trifluoride.

Source: chlorine trifluoride on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.