Niobium(V) bromide is the inorganic compound with the formula Nb₂Br₁₀. Its name comes from the compound's

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 the ...

, NbBr₅. It is a diamagnetic, orange solid that hydrolyses readily. The compound adopts an edge-shared bioctahedral structure, which means that two NbBr₅ units are joined by a pair of bromide bridges. There is no bond between the Nb centres. Niobium(V) chloride, niobium(V) iodide, tantalum(V) chloride, tantalum(V) bromide, and tantalum(V) iodide all share this structural motif.

Synthesis

Niobium(V) bromide can be prepared by the reaction of bromine with niobium metal at 230-250 °C in a

tube furnace A tube furnace is an electric heating device used to conduct syntheses and purifications of inorganic compounds and occasionally in organic synthesis. One possible design consists of a cylindrical cavity surrounded by heating coils that are embe ...

. It can also be produced from the more accessible oxide by metathesis using

aluminium tribromide Aluminium bromide is any chemical compound with the empirical formula AlBrx. Aluminium tribromide is the most common form of aluminium bromide. It is a colorless, sublimable hygroscopic solid; hence old samples tend to be hydrated, mostly as al ...

: :Nb₂O₅ + 3.3AlBr₃ → 2NbBr₅ + 3.3Al₂O₃ A challenge with the latter method is the occurrence of NbOBr₃ as an impurity.

References

External links

Web Elements
Bromides Metal halides Niobium(V) compounds {{inorganic-compound-stub