Materials that bond with Calcium Fluoride?

**lewdtenant** · Nov9-09, 04:25 PM

Can anyone give me some insight into any materials/substances that might bond to calcium fluoride (CaF2)? Any help is appreciated, thanks.

**alxm** · Nov9-09, 06:31 PM

What do you mean, 'bond to'? CaF2 is a quite stable compound. It's not going to form any additional bonds.

**lewdtenant** · Nov9-09, 06:59 PM

sorry, that was probably a poor choice of words. I guess I mean, can CaF2 be coated with something that doesn't peel off under normal atmospheric conditions very easily?

**lightarrow** · Nov10-09, 01:26 PM

Originally Posted by lewdtenant

sorry, that was probably a poor choice of words. I guess I mean, can CaF2 be coated with something that doesn't peel off under normal atmospheric conditions very easily?

You want to protect an apochromatic objective?

**lewdtenant** · Nov10-09, 02:26 PM

lightarrow,

yes, I'm looking for the adhesive properties of CaF2.

**lightarrow** · Nov14-09, 04:01 PM

Originally Posted by lewdtenant

lightarrow,

yes, I'm looking for the adhesive properties of CaF2.

The best I can think of is magnesium fluoride MgF₂, but I don't know if you were thinking of something easy to do for an astronomer fan, in which case I wouldn't know.

**lewdtenant** · Nov14-09, 05:20 PM

Thanks lightarrow,

I read somewhere about mag-fluoride as well. Also,

I guess I meant adhesion properties.. (is adhesive the same thing?). I've been reading up on the science of interfaces between materials and came across some literature on mechanical interlocking interfaces, where the substrate material has "digs" or "voids" that get filled in with the coating material, thereby giving better adhesion. Not sure how those digs are made, or if it's done with CaF2, but it sounds interesting.