Vinyl fluoride

Vinyl fluoride is an organic halide with the chemical formula C2H3F. It is a colorless gas with a faint etherlike odor.

Its critical point is at 54.8 °C (328 K) and 5.24 MPa. Dipole moment is 1.4 Debye and heat of vaporization is 361 kJ/kg.

It was first prepared in 1901 by Frédéric Swarts (the Belgian chemist who was the first to prepare CFCs in 1892) using the reaction of zinc with 1,1-difluoro-2-bromoethane. Now it is synthesized by the reaction of acetylene and hydrogen fluoride.

Its principal use is as the primary component in making polyvinyl fluoride, a polymer of the basic vinyl fluoride monomer.

Vinyl fluoride is classified as an IARC Group 2A carcinogen (likely to cause cancer in humans).