Ruthenium 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

empirical formula In chemistry, the empirical formula of a chemical compound is the simplest whole number ratio of atoms present in a compound. A simple example of this concept is that the empirical formula of sulfur monoxide, or SO, would simply be SO, as is th ...

RuF₅. This green volatile solid has rarely been studied but is of interest as a binary fluoride of

ruthenium Ruthenium is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ru and atomic number 44. It is a rare transition metal belonging to the platinum group of the periodic table. Like the other metals of the platinum group, ruthenium is inert to ...

, i.e. a compound containing only Ru and F. It is sensitive toward hydrolysis. Its structure consists of Ru₄F₂₀

tetramer A tetramer () (''tetra-'', "four" + '' -mer'', "parts") is an oligomer formed from four monomers or subunits. The associated property is called ''tetramery''. An example from inorganic chemistry is titanium methoxide with the empirical formula Ti ...

s, as seen in the isostructural

platinum pentafluoride Platinum pentafluoride is the inorganic compound with the empirical formula PtF5. This red volatile solid has rarely been studied but is of interest as one of the few binary fluorides of platinum, i.e., a compound containing only Pt and F. It is ...

. Within the tetramers, each Ru adopts

octahedral molecular geometry In chemistry, octahedral molecular geometry, also called square bipyramidal, describes the shape of compounds with six atoms or groups of atoms or ligands symmetrically arranged around a central atom, defining the vertices of an octahedron. The oc ...

, with two bridging

fluoride Fluoride (). According to this source, is a possible pronunciation in British English. is an inorganic, monatomic anion of fluorine, with the chemical formula (also written ), whose salts are typically white or colorless. Fluoride salts typ ...

ligand In coordination chemistry, a ligand is an ion or molecule (functional group) that binds to a central metal atom to form a coordination complex. The bonding with the metal generally involves formal donation of one or more of the ligand's electr ...

s. Ruthenium pentafluoride reacts with

iodine Iodine is a chemical element with the symbol I and atomic number 53. The heaviest of the stable halogens, it exists as a semi-lustrous, non-metallic solid at standard conditions that melts to form a deep violet liquid at , and boils to a vi ...

to give ruthenium(III) fluoride.

References

{{Fluorides Ruthenium compounds Fluorides Platinum group halides