halocarbon

[hal-uh-kahr-buh n]

noun Chemistry.

any of a class of compounds containing carbon, one or more halogens, and sometimes hydrogen.

Origin of halocarbon

First recorded in 1945–50; halo- + carbon

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

halocarbon in Science

[hăl′ə-kär′bən]

A compound, such as a fluorocarbon, that consists of carbon combined with one or more halogens. Halocarbons are typically nonflammable and nonreactive, though some halocarbons are broken down by ultraviolet radiation in the upper atmosphere, and this process releases free halogen atoms that damage the ozone layer. Some halocarbons have also been implicated as greenhouse gases.