Trifluoromethyl iodide
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Trifluoromethyl iodide is a compound with the formula CF3I. It is an experimental alternative to halon 1301 in unoccupied areas [1].
It contains carbon, fluorine, and iodine atoms. Although iodine is several hundred times more efficient at destroying stratospheric ozone than chlorine, experiments have shown that because the weak C-I bond breaks easily under the influence of water (owing to the electron-attracting fluorine atoms), trifluoromethyl iodide has an ozone depleting potential less than one-thousandth that of Halon 1301. Its atmospheric lifetime, at less than 1 month, is less than 1 percent that of Halon 1301, and less even than hydrogen chloride formed from volcanoes.
There is, however, still the problem of the C-F bonds absorbing in the atmospheric window. Thus, even after decomposition, trifluoromethy iodide is likely to be a very effective greenhouse gas.
[edit] Further reading
For further information, a report from the Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology of the National Academy of Sciences entitled Iodotrifluoromethane: Toxicity Review (2004) is available for free online reading and research in several formats.
