Zinc fluoride ( Zn F₂) is an

inorganic In chemistry, an inorganic compound is typically a chemical compound that lacks carbon–hydrogen bonds, that is, a compound that is not an organic compound. The study of inorganic compounds is a subfield of chemistry known as ''inorganic chemist ...

chemical compound A chemical compound is a chemical substance composed of many identical molecules (or molecular entities) containing atoms from more than one chemical element held together by chemical bonds. A molecule consisting of atoms of only one element ...

. It is encountered as the anhydrous form and also as the tetrahydrate, ZnF₂ · 4H₂O (rhombohedral crystal structure). It has a high melting point and has the

rutile Rutile is an oxide mineral composed of titanium dioxide (TiO2), the most common natural form of TiO2. Rarer polymorphs of TiO2 are known, including anatase, akaogiite, and brookite. Rutile has one of the highest refractive indices at visib ...

structure containing 6 coordinate zinc, which suggests appreciable ionic character in its chemical bonding. Unlike the other zinc halides, ZnCl₂, ZnBr₂ and ZnI₂, it is not very soluble in water. Like some other metal difluorides, ZnF₂ crystallizes in the

structure, which features octahedral Zn centers and planar fluorides.

Preparation and reactions

Zinc fluoride can be synthesized several ways. *Reaction of a fluoride salt with

zinc chloride Zinc chloride is the name of inorganic chemical compounds with the formula ZnCl2 and its hydrates. Zinc chlorides, of which nine crystalline forms are known, are colorless or white, and are highly soluble in water. This salt is hygroscopic and e ...

, to yield zinc fluoride and a chloride salt, in aqueous solution. *The reaction of

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

metal with fluorine gas. *Reaction of hydrofluoric acid with zinc, to yield

hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic ...

gas (H₂) and zinc fluoride (ZnF₂). Zinc fluoride can be hydrolysed by hot water to form the zinc hydroxyfluoride, Zn(OH)F.

References

External links

Metal halides fluoride {{inorganic-compound-stub