Niobium(V) fluoride, also known as niobium pentafluoride, is the
inorganic compound
In chemistry, an inorganic compound is typically a chemical compound that lacks carbon–hydrogen bonds, that is, a compound that is not an organic compound. The study of inorganic compounds is a subfield of chemistry known as '' inorganic chemist ...
with the formula NbF
5. The solid consists of tetramers
bF5sub>4. It is a colorless solid that is rarely used.
Preparation and reactions
Niobium pentafluoride is obtained by treatment of any niobium compound with fluorine:
:2 Nb + 5 F
2 → 2 NbF
5
:2 NbCl
5 + 5 F
2 → 2 NbF
5 + 5 Cl
2
It reacts with
hydrogen fluoride
Hydrogen fluoride (fluorane) is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . This colorless gas or liquid is the principal industrial source of fluorine, often as an aqueous solution called hydrofluoric acid. It is an important feedstock i ...
to give H
2NbF
7, a
superacid
In chemistry, a superacid (according to the classical definition) is an acid with an acidity greater than that of 100% pure sulfuric acid (), which has a Hammett acidity function (''H''0) of −12. According to the modern definition, a superacid ...
.
Related compounds
In
hydrofluoric acid
Hydrofluoric acid is a Solution (chemistry), solution of hydrogen fluoride (HF) in water. Solutions of HF are colourless, acidic and highly Corrosive substance, corrosive. It is used to make most fluorine-containing compounds; examples include th ...
, NbF
5 converts to
bF7sup>2- and
bF5Osup>2-. The relative solubility of these potassium salts and related tantalum fluorides is the basis of the
Marignac process for separation of Nb and Ta.
NbCl5 forms a dimeric structure (edge-shared bioctahedron) in contrast to the corner-shared tetrameric structure of the fluoride.
External links
NIST Standard Reference Database
References
{{fluorine compounds
Niobium(V) compounds
Fluorides
Metal halides