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Antimony pentafluoride
Antimony pentafluoride is the inorganic compound with the formula SbF5. This colorless, viscous liquid is a strong Lewis acid and a component of the superacid fluoroantimonic acid, formed upon mixing liquid HF with liquid SbF5 in a 1:1 molar ratio. It is notable for its strong Lewis acidity and the ability to react with almost all known compounds.
Antimony pentafluoride is prepared by the reaction of antimony pentachloride with anhydrous hydrogen fluoride:
It can also be prepared from antimony trifluoride and fluorine.
In the gas phase, SbF5 adopts a trigonal bipyramidal structure of D3h point group symmetry (see picture). The material adopts a more complicated structure in the liquid and solid states. The liquid contains polymers wherein each Sb is octahedral, the structure being described with the formula [SbF4(μ-F)2]n ((μ-F) denotes the fact that fluoride centres bridge two Sb centers). The crystalline material is a tetramer, meaning that it has the formula [SbF4(μ-F)]4. The Sb–F bonds are 2.02 Å within the eight-membered Sb4F4 ring; the remaining fluoride ligands radiating from the four Sb centers are shorter at 1.82 Å. The related species PF5 and AsF5 are monomeric in the solid and liquid states, probably due to the smaller sizes of the central atom, which limits their coordination number. BiF5 is a polymer.
Antimony pentafluoride is a very strong oxidizing agent. Phosphorus burns on contact with it.
SbF5 increases the oxidizing power of Fluorine, making it able to oxidize oxygen:
SbF5 has also been used in the first discovered chemical reaction that produces fluorine gas from fluoride compounds:
The driving force for this reaction is the high affinity of SbF5 for F−, which is the same property that recommends the use of SbF5 to generate superacids.
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Antimony pentafluoride
Antimony pentafluoride is the inorganic compound with the formula SbF5. This colorless, viscous liquid is a strong Lewis acid and a component of the superacid fluoroantimonic acid, formed upon mixing liquid HF with liquid SbF5 in a 1:1 molar ratio. It is notable for its strong Lewis acidity and the ability to react with almost all known compounds.
Antimony pentafluoride is prepared by the reaction of antimony pentachloride with anhydrous hydrogen fluoride:
It can also be prepared from antimony trifluoride and fluorine.
In the gas phase, SbF5 adopts a trigonal bipyramidal structure of D3h point group symmetry (see picture). The material adopts a more complicated structure in the liquid and solid states. The liquid contains polymers wherein each Sb is octahedral, the structure being described with the formula [SbF4(μ-F)2]n ((μ-F) denotes the fact that fluoride centres bridge two Sb centers). The crystalline material is a tetramer, meaning that it has the formula [SbF4(μ-F)]4. The Sb–F bonds are 2.02 Å within the eight-membered Sb4F4 ring; the remaining fluoride ligands radiating from the four Sb centers are shorter at 1.82 Å. The related species PF5 and AsF5 are monomeric in the solid and liquid states, probably due to the smaller sizes of the central atom, which limits their coordination number. BiF5 is a polymer.
Antimony pentafluoride is a very strong oxidizing agent. Phosphorus burns on contact with it.
SbF5 increases the oxidizing power of Fluorine, making it able to oxidize oxygen:
SbF5 has also been used in the first discovered chemical reaction that produces fluorine gas from fluoride compounds:
The driving force for this reaction is the high affinity of SbF5 for F−, which is the same property that recommends the use of SbF5 to generate superacids.