Bismuth compounds elemental fluorine

Use the group structure of the periodic table to predict the empirical formulas for the binary compounds that hydrogen forms with the elements germanium, fluorine, tellurium, and bismuth. 

These compounds may be prepared directly from the elements, although this route is not always the most suitable. The reactivity of fluorine is such that the pentafluoride is formed as a secondary product with phosphorus and arsenic and also to a smaller extent with antimony. Bismuth becomes coated during fluorination with a solid layer of fluoride which hinders further reaction. 

The fluorides of the s- and p-block elements of the periods beyond the second are summarized in Table 7.1. The oxidizing power of fluorine produces numerous examples of hypervalency, in which the maximum valency is shown by the most stable compounds. The only exception to this statement is provided by the bismuth fluorides the hypervalent BiFj (linear polymer) is considerably less stable than the +3 compound. There are a few examples of the inert pair effect, but the fluorides with the group valency are the more stable. 

In the first section of this chapter some of the properties of the elements hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, arsenic, antimony, bismuth, oxygen, sulfur, selenium, tellurium, fluorine, chlorine, bromine, and iodine are described. The following sections are devoted to some of their compounds with one another, especially the single-bonded normal-valence compounds. Compounds of nonmetals with oxygen are discussed in the following chapter. 

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