Beryllium fluoride

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Beryllium fluoride

IUPAC name	Berylium fluoride
Identifiers
CAS number	[7787-49-7]
Properties
Molecular formula	BeF₂
Melting point	552 °C
Except where noted otherwise, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C, 100 kPa) Infobox disclaimer and references

Beryllium fluoride is the chemical compound with the formula BeF₂. It is the beryllium compound with the greatest amount of ionic character (due to the high electronegativity of fluorine), but even so it is not considered ionic by many chemists. This synthetic material is the principal precursor for the manufacture of beryllium metal, which is obtained by reduction of BeF₂ at 1300°C:^[1]

BeF₂ + Mg → Be + MgF₂

Molecular BeF₂, is isoelectronic with CO₂ and SiO₂ and as found in the gas-phase above 1160 °C is a linear molecule with a Be-F distance of 177 pm.^[1]. The condensed form adopts a number of different polymeric structures similar to those formed by SiO₂ namely α-quartz, β-quartz, crystobalite and tridymite,^[2]. The difference between the ambient temperature structures of BeF₂ and CO₂ reflects the decreased tendency of alkali metals to form multiple bonds. An analogy exists between BeF₂ and AlF₃: both adopt extended structures at mild temperature.

1 Applications
2 Safety
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Applications

Beryllium fluoride is used in biochemistry, particularly protein crystallography, since it binds in some of the same ways as phosphate does,,:\\]. ADP and beryllium fluoride together tend to bind to ATP sites and inhibit protein action, making it possible to crystallise proteins in the bound state.^[3]

[edit] Safety

All beryllium compounds are highly toxic. Beryllium fluoride is very soluble in water and is thus absorbed easily; as mentioned above, it inhibits ATP uptake. The LD50 in mice is about 100mg/kg by ingestion and 1.8mg/kg by intravenous injection.

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b Holleman, A. F.; Wiberg, E. "Inorganic Chemistry" Academic Press: San Diego, 2001. ISBN 0-12-352651-5.
^ Greenwood, N. N.; Earnshaw, A. (1997). Chemistry of the Elements, 2nd Edition, Oxford:Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 0-7506-3365-4.
^ Reiko Kagawa1, Martin G Montgomery, Kerstin Braig, Andrew G W Leslie and John E Walker (2004). "The structure of bovine F1-ATPase inhibited by ADP and beryllium fluoride". The EMBO Journal 23 (5): 2734–2744. doi:10.1038/sj.emboj.7600293.