- Xenon hexafluoride
Chembox new
Name = Xenon hexafluoride
OtherNames = Hexofluoroxenon
ImageFile = Xenonhexafluorid.svg
ImageSize = 100px
Section1 = Chembox Identifiers
CASNo = 13693-09-9
Section2 = Chembox Properties
Formula = XeF6
MolarMass = 245.28 g mol-1
Density = 3.56 g cm-3
Solubility = reacts with water
MeltingPt = 49.25 °C
BoilingPt = 75.6 °CXenon hexafluoride is the
chemical compound with the formula XeF6. This colorless crystalline compound is one of the three binary fluorides ofxenon , the other two being XeF2 and XeF4. All areexergonic and stable at normal temperatures. XeF6 is the strongest fluorinating agent of the series.Xenon hexafluoride can be prepared by long-term heating of XeF2 at about 300 degrees and pressure 6 MPa.
tructure
The structure of XeF6 required several years to establish in contrast to the cases of
xenon difluoride andxenon tetrafluoride . In the gas phase it adopts a slightly distorted octahedral geometry. It lacks perfectoctahedral symmetry , as predicted byVSEPR theory due to the presence of six fluoride ligands and one lone pair of electrons. According to Konrad Seppelt, the Associate Professor of Chemistry at the University of Heidelberg, "the structure is best described in terms of a mobile electron pair that moves over the faces and edges of the octahedron and thus distorts it in a dynamic manner.". [cite journal
last = Seppelt
first = Konrad
year = 1979
month = June
title = Recent Developments in the Chemistry of Some Electronegative Elements
journal = Accounts of Chemical Research
volume = 12
issue = 6
pages = 211–216
doi = 10.1021/ar50138a004 ]
NMR spectra of129Xe19F6 indicate that it is tetrameric: four equivalent xenon atoms are arranged in atetrahedron surrounded by a fluctuating array of 24 fluorine atoms that interchange positions in a "cogwheel mechanism".Reactions
Xenon hexafluoride hydrolyzes stepwise, ultimately affording
xenon trioxide : [cite journal | last = Appelman | first = E. H. | coauthors = and J. G. Malm | year = 1964 | month = June | title = Hydrolysis of Xenon Hexafluoride and the Aqueous Solution Chemistry of Xenon | journal = Journal of the American Chemical Society | volume = 86 | issue = 11 | pages = 2141–2148 | doi = 10.1021/ja01065a009] :XeF6 + H2O → XeOF4 + 2 HF:XeOF4 + H2O → XeO2F2 + 2 HF:XeO2F2 + H2O → XeO3 + 2 HFXeF6 serves as a
Lewis acid , binding one and two fluoride anions::XeF6 + F− → XeF7−:XeF7− + F− → XeF82−The two other binary fluorides do not form such stable adducts with fluoride. The salt Rb2XeF8 is among the most robust xenon compounds, decomposing only above 400 °C. [Holleman, A. F.; Wiberg, E. "Inorganic Chemistry" Academic Press: San Diego, 2001. ISBN 0-12-352651-5.]References
External links
* [http://webbook.nist.gov/cgi/cbook.cgi?ID=C13693099 WebBook page for XeF6]
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