| Order and disorder in difluorides | |
| The fluorite structure | Beryllium fluoride glass |
Difluorides are chemical compounds with twofluorine atoms per molecule (or per formula unit).
Metal difluorides are allionic. Despite being highly ionic, thealkaline earth metal difluorides generally have extremely high lattice stability and are thusinsoluble in water. The exception isberyllium difluoride. In addition, manytransition metal difluorides are water-soluble.
Calcium difluoride is a notable compound. In the form of the mineralfluorite it is the major source of commercial fluorine. It also has an eponymic crystal structure, which is an end member of the spectrum starting frombixbyite and progressing throughpyrochlore.
Examples of the difluorides include:
The alkaline earth metals all exhibit the oxidation state +2, and form difluorides. The difluoride ofradium is however not well established due to the element's high radioactivity.
| Metal | M2+HE[1] | F− HE[2] | "MF2" unit HE | MF2 lattice energies (−kJ/mol)[3] | Solubility (mol/L)[4] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Be | 2,455 | 458 | 3,371 | 3,526 | 25 |
| Mg | 1,922 | 458 | 2,838 | 2,978 | 0.0012 |
| Ca | 1,577 | 458 | 2,493 | 2,651 | 0.0002 |
| Sr | 1,415 | 458 | 2,331 | 2,513 | 0.0008 |
| Ba | 1,361 | 458 | 2,277 | 2,373 | 0.006 |
Compounds of the form MF2:
Thebifluorides contain the two fluorine atoms in acovalently bound HF2−polyatomic ion rather than as F− anions.