Oxygen monofluoride
Oxygen monofluoride is an unstable binary inorganic compound radical of fluorine and oxygen with the chemical formula OF. This is the simplest of many oxygen fluorides.
Synthesis
OF is a radical that can be formed by thermal or photolytic decomposition of [oxygen difluoride|]or a reaction of fluorine and ozone:
Atmosphere
Oxygen- and fluorine-containing radicals like OF and occur in the atmosphere. These and other halogen radicals have been implicated in the destruction of ozone in the atmosphere.However, oxygen monofluoride radicals are assumed to not play as big a role in the ozone depletion because free fluorine atoms in the atmosphere are believed to react with methane to produce hydrogen fluoride, which precipitates in rain as hydrofluoric acid.