Bismuth pentafluoride, BiF₅, is chemical compound

Chemical compound

A chemical compound is a pure chemical substance consisting of two or more different chemical elements that can be separated into simpler substances by chemical reactions. Chemical compounds have a unique and defined chemical structure; they consist of a fixed ratio of atoms that are held together...

 of bismuth

Bismuth

Bismuth is a chemical element with symbol Bi and atomic number 83. Bismuth, a trivalent poor metal, chemically resembles arsenic and antimony. Elemental bismuth may occur naturally uncombined, although its sulfide and oxide form important commercial ores. The free element is 86% as dense as lead...

 and fluorine

Fluorine

Fluorine is the chemical element with atomic number 9, represented by the symbol F. It is the lightest element of the halogen column of the periodic table and has a single stable isotope, fluorine-19. At standard pressure and temperature, fluorine is a pale yellow gas composed of diatomic...

.

Structure

BiF₅ is polymeric and consists of linear chains of trans-bridged corner sharing BiF₆ octahedra. This is the same structure as α-UF₅

Uranium pentafluoride

Uranium pentafluoride an inorganic chemical consisting of uranium and fluorine. The compound exists both as individual UF5 molecular entities and with extended order in several crystal-lattice forms. The monomer, formed by photolysis of uranium hexafluoride, has a square pyramidal geometry...

 and is in contrast to bismuth trifluoride

Bismuth trifluoride

Bismuth trifluoride is a chemical compound of bismuth and fluorine. The chemical formula is BiF3. It is a grey-white powder melting at 649°C.-Synthesis:Bismuth trifluoride can be prepared by reacting bismuth oxide with hydrofluoric acid:-Structure:...

, BiF₃, which is ionic and adopts the YCl₃

Yttrium(III) chloride

Yttrium chloride is an ionic compound of yttrium and chlorine. It is a salt that is solid at room temperature, highly soluble in water, and deliquescent...

 structure.

(BiF5)∞ chain	packing of chains

Preparation

BiF₅ can be prepared by reacting BiF₃ with F₂ at 500 °C.

BiF₃ + F₂ → BiF₅

An alternative synthesis uses ClF₃

Chlorine trifluoride

Chlorine trifluoride is an interhalogen compound with the formula ClF3. This colourless, poisonous, corrosive and very reactive gas condenses to a pale-greenish yellow liquid, the form in which it is most often sold...

 as the fluorinating agent at 350 °C.

BiF₃ + ClF₃ → BiF₅ + ClF

Reactions

Bismuth pentafluoride is the most reactive of the Group 15 pentafluorides and is an extremely strong fluorinating agent. It reacts vigorously with water to form ozone

Ozone

Ozone , or trioxygen, is a triatomic molecule, consisting of three oxygen atoms. It is an allotrope of oxygen that is much less stable than the diatomic allotrope...

 and oxygen difluoride

Oxygen difluoride

Oxygen difluoride is the chemical compound with the formula F2O. As predicted by VSEPR theory, the molecule adopts a "V" shaped structure like H2O, but it has very different properties, being a strong oxidizer.-Preparation:...

, and with iodine or sulfur at room temperature. BiF₅ fluorinates paraffin oil

Kerosene

Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage, also known as paraffin or paraffin oil in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Ireland and South Africa, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. The name is derived from Greek keros...

 (hydrocarbons) to fluorocarbon

Fluorocarbon

Fluorocarbons, sometimes referred to as perfluorocarbons or PFCs, are organofluorine compounds that contain only carbon and fluorine bonded together in strong carbon–fluorine bonds. Fluoroalkanes that contain only single bonds are more chemically and thermally stable than alkanes...

s above 50 °C and oxidises UF₄

Uranium tetrafluoride

Uranium tetrafluoride is a green crystalline solid compound of uranium with an insignificant vapor pressure and very slight solubility in water. Uranium in its tetravalent state is very important in different technological processes...

 to UF₆

Uranium hexafluoride

Uranium hexafluoride , referred to as "hex" in the nuclear industry, is a compound used in the uranium enrichment process that produces fuel for nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons. It forms solid grey crystals at standard temperature and pressure , is highly toxic, reacts violently with water...

 at 150 °C. At 180 °C, bismuth pentafluoride fluorinates Br₂

Bromine

Bromine ") is a chemical element with the symbol Br, an atomic number of 35, and an atomic mass of 79.904. It is in the halogen element group. The element was isolated independently by two chemists, Carl Jacob Löwig and Antoine Jerome Balard, in 1825–1826...

 to BrF₃

Bromine trifluoride

Bromine trifluoride is an interhalogen compound with the formula BrF3. This toxic, colourless, and corrosive liquid is soluble in sulfuric acid but explodes on contact with water and organic compounds. It is a powerful fluorinating agent and an ionizing inorganic solvent...

 and Cl₂

Chlorine

Chlorine is the chemical element with atomic number 17 and symbol Cl. It is the second lightest halogen, found in the periodic table in group 17. The element forms diatomic molecules under standard conditions, called dichlorine...

 to ClF

Chlorine monofluoride

Chlorine monofluoride is a volatile interhalogen compound with the chemical formula ClF. It is a colourless gas at room temperature and is stable even at high temperatures. When cooled to −100 °C, ClF condenses as a pale yellow liquid...

.

BiF₅ also reacts with alkali metal fluorides, MF, to form hexafluorobismuthates, M[BiF₆], containing the hexafluorobismuthate anion, [BiF₆]⁻.