Antimony trifluoride

Antimony trifluoride
Preferred IUPAC name

Antimony(III) fluoride
Systematic name

Trifluorostibane
Other names

Trifluoroantimony
Identifiers
CAS number 7783-56-4
PubChem 24554 Y
ChemSpider 22960 Y
EC number 232-009-2
UN number UN 2923
RTECS number CC5150000
Jmol-3D images Image 1
Properties
Molecular formula SbF3
Molar mass 178.75 g/mol
Appearance light gray crystals
Odor pungent
Density 4.379 g/cm3
Melting point

292°C (565.15 K)
Boiling point

376°C (649.15 K)
Solubility in water 385 g/100 mL (0 °C)
443 g/100 mL (20 °C)
562 g/100 mL (30 °C)
Structure
Crystal structure Orthorhombic, oS16
Space group Ama2, No. 40
Hazards
NFPA 704
0
3
0
LD50 7000 mg/kg
Related compounds
Related compounds antimony pentafluoride
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Except where noted otherwise, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C, 100 kPa)
Infobox references

Antimony trifluoride is the inorganic compound with the formula SbF3. Sometimes called Swart's reagent, is one of two principal fluorides of antimony, the other being SbF5. It appears as a white solid. As well as some industrial applications,[1] it is used as a reagent in inorganic and organofluorine chemistry.

Contents

Preparation and structure

In solid SbF3, the Sb centres have octahedral molecular geometry and are linked by bridging fluoride ligands. Three Sb-F bonds are short (192 pm) and three are long (261 pm). Because it is a polymeric, SbF3 is far less volatile than related compounds AsF3 and SbCl3.[2]

SbF3 is prepared by treating antimony trioxide with hydrogen fluoride:[3]

Sb2O3 + 6 HF → 2 SbF3 + 3 H2O

The compound is a mild Lewis acid, hydrolyzing slowly in water. With fluorine, it is oxidized to give antimony pentafluoride.

SbF3 + F2 → SbF5

Applications

It is used as a fluorination reagent in organic chemistry.[4] This application was reported by the Belgium chemist Frédéric Jean Edmond Swarts in 1892,[5] who demonstrated its usefulness for converting chloride compounds to fluorides. The method involved treatment with antimony trifluoride with chlorine or with antimony pentachloride to give the active species antimony trifluorodichloride (SbCl2F3). This compound can also be produced in bulk.[6] The Swarts reaction is generally applied to the synthesis of organofluorine compounds, but experiments have been performed using silanes.[7] It was once used for the industrial production of freon. Other fluorine-containing Lewis acids serve as fluorinating agents in conjunction with hydrogen fluoride.

SbF3 is used in dyeing and pottery.

Safety

The lethal minimum dose (guinea pig, oral) is 100 mg/kg.[8]

References

  1. ^ Sabina C. Grund, Kunibert Hanusch, Hans J. Breunig, Hans Uwe Wolf "Antimony and Antimony Compounds" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, 2006, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. doi:10.1002/14356007.a03_055.pub2
  2. ^ Greenwood, Norman N.; Earnshaw, Alan (1997). Chemistry of the Elements (2nd ed.). Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 0080379419. 
  3. ^ Handbook of Preparative Inorganic Chemistry, 2nd Ed. Edited by G. Brauer, Academic Press, 1963, NY. Vol. 1. p. 199.
  4. ^ Tariq Mahmood and Charles B. Lindahl Fluorine Compounds, Inorganic, Antimony in Kirk‑Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology.doi:10.1002/0471238961.0114200913010813.a01
  5. ^ Swarts (1892). Acad. Roy. Belg 3 (24): 474. 
  6. ^ US 4438088 
  7. ^ Booth, Harold Simmons; Suttle, John Francis (1946). "IV. The Preparation and Fluorination of Dimethyl and Trimethyl Chlorosilanes". J. Ac. Chem. Soc 68 (12): 2658–2660. doi:10.1021/ja01216a072. 
  8. ^ Sabina C. Grund, Kunibert Hanusch, Hans J. Breunig, Hans Uwe Wolf “Antimony and Antimony Compounds” in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry 2006, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. doi: 10.1002/14356007.a03_055.pub2

External links