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alternative refrigerants

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Corvettaholic:
Why is freon considered to be a good refrigerant? Why not use something else like propane? I'm just wondering what qualities of a particular gas or molecule make it a good refrigerant as opposed to something else. Gonna build me a fridge and use it to cool off solar panels.

ATMyller:
Good refrigerant gas has high heat capasity, heat conductivity and compressibilty factor, but also a low boiling point.
Freon is used mainly because it's nontoxic and it's not very flammable, so any leak wouldn't pose any health hazard. Freon also has a downsize: It forms radicals when exposed to UV-radiation, making it a threat to the ozone layer.

Corvettaholic:
Have any suggestions for a chemistry novice for refrigerants? Something I can fab up easily or get at walmart? Google searches keep telling me to use propane, but compressing an explosive gas scares me...

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