fluorocarbon

[ floor-oh-kahr-buhn, flawr-, flohr- ]

nounChemistry.
  1. any of a class of compounds produced by substituting fluorine for hydrogen in a hydrocarbon, and characterized by great chemical stability: used chiefly as a lubricant, refrigerant, fire extinguishing agent, and in industrial and other applications in which chemical, electrical, flame, and heat resistance is essential; banned as an aerosol propellant in the U.S. because of concern about ozone layer depletion.

Origin of fluorocarbon

1
First recorded in 1935–40; fluoro- + carbon

Words Nearby fluorocarbon

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How to use fluorocarbon in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for fluorocarbon

fluorocarbon

/ (ˌflʊərəʊˈkɑːbən) /


noun
  1. any compound derived by replacing all or some of the hydrogen atoms in hydrocarbons by fluorine atoms. Many of them are used as lubricants, solvents, and coatings: See also Freon, polytetrafluoroethylene, CFC

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for fluorocarbon

fluorocarbon

[ flur′ō-kärbən ]


  1. An inert, liquid or gaseous organic compound similar to a hydrocarbon but having fluorine atoms in the place of hydrogen atoms. Fluorocarbons are used in aerosol propellants and refrigerants.

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