Tantalum pentafluoride, structure

The blue solid prepared by Rulf et al. (9) in 1906 and thought to be (SbF5)aI was probably a mixture of an la fluoroantimonate salt, and some Sb(III)-containing material. Pure crystalline la SbaFu has recently been prepared by the reaction of iodine with antimony pentafluoride in liquid sulfur dioxide as solvent (11). After removal of insoluble SbFg, deep blue crystals of la SbaFi were obtained from the solution. An X-ray crystallographic structure determination showed the presence of the discrete ions la and SbaFu . Crystalline solids that can be formulated as la SbaFu and Ia TaaFii have also been prepared by Kemmitt et al. (4) by the reaction of iodine with antimony or tantalum pentafluorides in iodine pentafluoride solutions. 

Typical chain-type crystal structure is observed for compounds with the general formula MNbOF4. Table 30 presents cell parameters of tantalum and niobium pentafluorides and of other compounds with X Me = 5. 

Typical examples of compounds that form chain-type structures are simple pentafluorides of tantalum and niobium, TaFs and Nbfs, which were investigated by Edwards [199]. The cry stal structure of NbF< consists of rings made up of four NbF6 octahedrons that are linked by fluorine ligands that are each shared by two neighboring octahedrons, as shown in Pig. 29. The main interatomic distances (in A) are as follows Nb-Nb 5.80, 3.90 and 4.13 Nh-P,(Ki -. 1.75 and 1.78 Nb-Ftal% - 2.06 and 2.07 angle Nl>F[jf d,e-Nh - 182.5°. 

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