Alkali hexafluorosilicate

Sodium and potassium hexafluorosilicate are manufactured by reacting alkali salts (e.g. chlorides) with hexafluoro-silicic acid and subsequent separation of the poorly soluble alkali hexafluorosilicates. 

Examples of toxic compounds, including some important intermediates and starting materials in the chemical industry, are shown in Figure 3.3. Many alkali fluorides, such as alkali hexafluorosilicate, alkali hydrogen difluoride, or alkali sulfuryl fluoride, are well known toxic substances. Sulfur dioxide and ammonia (ubiquitous gases) are toxic, as are chlorine, metallic mercury vapors, many organic phenol compounds, amino aromatic compounds such as aniline, and many substituted amino-benzene derivatives. Additionally, many diisocyanates are toxic, e.g., 2,4- and 2,6-toluene diisocyanate (TDI), hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI), chloro-, bromo-, and iodoacetic acid, methyl bromide, tribromomethane (bromoform), carbon tetrachloride, and formaldehyde. Also, many natural compounds present in many plants have toxic properties, and a selection of these are listed in Table 3.4. 

Silicon, germanium, tin and lead can make use of unfilled d orbitals to expand their covalency beyond four and each of these elements is able (but only with a few ligands) to increase its covalency to six. Hence silicon in oxidation state -f-4 forms the octahedral hexafluorosilicate complex ion [SiFg] (but not [SiCl] ). Tin and lead in oxidation state -1-4 form the hexahydroxo complex ions, hexahydroxostannate(IV). [Sn(OH) ] and hexahydroxoplum-bate(IV) respectively when excess alkali is added to an aqueous solution containing hydrated tin(IV) and lead(IV) ions. 

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