Cobalt(II) fluoride Cobalt(II) fluoride Cobalt(II) fluoride is a chemical compound with the formula (CoF). It is a pink crystalline solid compound which is antiferromagnetic at low temperatures (T=37.7 K) The formula is given for both the red tetragonal crystal, (CoF), and the tetrahydrate red orthogonal crystal, (CoF·4HO). CoF is used in oxygen-sensitive fields, namely metal production. In low concentrations, it has public health uses. CoF is sparingly soluble in water. The compound can be dissolved in warm mineral acid, and will decompose in boiling water. Yet the hydrate is water-soluble, especially the di-hydrate CoF·2H O and tri-hydrate CoF·3HO forms of the compound.
Cobalt was predominantly used as a pigment. It has been used since the Middle Ages to make smalt, a blue-colored glass. Smalt is produced by melting a mixture of roasted mineral smaltite, quartz and potassium carbonate, which yields a dark blue silicate glass, which is finely ground after the production. Smalt was widely used to color glass and as pigment for paintings. In 1780, Sven Rinman discovered cobalt green, and in 1802 Louis Jacques Thénard discovered cobalt blue. Cobalt pigments such as cobalt blue (cobalt aluminate), cerulean blue (cobalt(II) stannate), various hues of cobalt green (a mixture of cobalt(II) oxide and