Octafluorocubane
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IUPAC name
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8-octafluorocubane
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Other names
perfluorocubane
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Identifiers | |
3D model (JSmol)
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PubChem CID
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CompTox Dashboard (EPA)
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Properties | |
C8F8 | |
Molar mass | 248.075 g·mol−1 |
Appearance | colorless, sublimable |
Density | 2.429 g/cm3 |
Melting point | 160.1–171.1 °C (320.2–340.0 °F; 433.2–444.2 K) |
Related compounds | |
Related compounds
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Octanitrocubane |
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
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Octafluorocubane or perfluorocubane is an organofluorine compound with the formula C8F8, consisting of eight carbon atoms joined into a cube, with a fluorine bonded to each carbon corner. It is a colorless, sublimable solid at room temperature. It has been of longstanding theoretical interest, but was not synthesised until 2022, when it was prepared in several steps from a cubane carboxylic ester beginning with its heptafluorination. According to X-ray crystallography, the C-C distances (1.570 Å) in octafluorocubane are identical in length to those in the parent cubane (1.572 Å).[1]
Octafluorocubane has attracted interest from theorists because of its unusual electronic structure,[2] which is indicated by its susceptibility to undergo reduction to a detectable anion C
8F−
8, with the free electron trapped inside of the cube.[3]
The compound was voted "favorite molecule of 2022" by readers of Chemical & Engineering News.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ Sugiyama M, Akiyama M, Yonezawa Y, Komaguchi K, Higashi M, Nozaki K, Okazoe T (August 2022). "Electron in a cube: Synthesis and characterization of perfluorocubane as an electron acceptor". Science. 377 (6607): 756–759. doi:10.1126/science.abq0516. PMID 35951682. S2CID 251515925.
- ^ Pichierri, F. Substituent effects in cubane and hypercubane: a DFT and QTAIM study. Theor Chem Acc 2017; 136: 114. doi:10.1007/s00214-017-2144-5
- ^ Krafft MP, Riess JG (August 2022). "Perfluorocubane-a tiny electron guzzler". Science. 377 (6607): 709. doi:10.1126/science.adc9195. PMID 35951708. S2CID 251517529.
- ^ "A cube catches an electron". Chemical & Engineering News. December 2022. ISSN 1520-605X. Retrieved 2022-12-30.