Boron trifluoride argon compound

The only way in which the inert gases could form compounds would be by the donation of electron pairs. Several attempts have accordingly been made to obtain evidence of reaction with strong Lewis acids. Booth and Willson (1935) made a thermal analysis of the system argon-boron trifluoride between —127 and —133 °C at pressures up to 40 atmospheres. They reported the existence of compounds Ar(BF3)j where x = 1, 2, 3, 6, 8 and 12, but Wiberg and Karbe (1948) failed to confirm this. 

Shortly after these elements were first characterized near the beginning of this century, chemists began their efforts to force them into some type of chemical combination. The elements have yielded grudgingly and, in almost all cases, equivocally. Compounds of helium reported formed in discharge tubes have, at best, only momentary survival, whereas the absorption of helium and argon on metals may be called chemical interaction only if the word chemical is severely stretched. The existence of acid-base compounds of argon with boron trifluoride has been reported but is still in question. 

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