Thermal decomposition and fire extinguishing mechanism of CF3I: a
combined theoretical and experimental study
Abstract
The urgent desire for Halon substitution propels the exploration of
potential alternatives, because of the severe damage of Halons to the
stratospheric ozone layer. In this paper, the thermal decomposition
mechanism, as well as fire-extinguishing mechanism and performance of
Trifluoroiodomethane (CF3I) were studied by density functional theory
(DFT) calculation and experimental measurements, to analyze the
practicability of this proposed Halon substitute. The thermal
decomposition products of CF3I can react with active OH· and H· radicals
to achieve the purpose of rapidly fire-extinguishing. Besides, through
DFT calculation and reaction kinetics analysis, the fire-extinguishing
radicals CF3· and I· are more easily generated during the interaction
between CF3I and flame, which indicates the chemical- extinguishing
mechanism and pronounced fire-extinguishing performance of CF3I. To
explore its actual fire-extinguishing effect, the fire-extinguishing
concentration (FEC) of CF3I was measured in cup burner. The FEC value of
this proposed Halon substitute is 3.42vol% for extinguishment of
methane-air flame, which is smaller than those of three HFCs and
HFO-1336mzz(Z) and is comparable to that of Halon 1301. These findings
suggest the promising applicability of CF3I in practical Halon
replacement and the necessity of further evaluation.