Hexafluorophosphazene is an

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

with the formula . It takes the form of a white powder or lumps. It is sensitive to moisture and heat.

Structure

The molecule has a cyclic, unsaturated backbone consisting of alternating

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol P and atomic number 15. All elemental forms of phosphorus are highly Reactivity (chemistry), reactive and are therefore never found in nature. They can nevertheless be prepared ar ...

and

nitrogen Nitrogen is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a Nonmetal (chemistry), nonmetal and the lightest member of pnictogen, group 15 of the periodic table, often called the Pnictogen, pnictogens. ...

atoms, and can be viewed as a trimer of the hypothetical compound (phosphazyl difluoride). Its classification as a

phosphazene Phosphazenes refer to various classes of organophosphorus compounds featuring phosphorus(V) with a double bond between P and N. One class of phosphazenes have the formula . These phosphazenes are also known as iminophosphoranes and phosphine imides ...

highlights its relationship to

benzene Benzene is an Organic compound, organic chemical compound with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecular formula C6H6. The benzene molecule is composed of six carbon atoms joined in a planar hexagonal Ring (chemistry), ring with one hyd ...

. Hexafluorophosphazene has a

hexagonal In geometry, a hexagon (from Greek , , meaning "six", and , , meaning "corner, angle") is a six-sided polygon. The total of the internal angles of any simple (non-self-intersecting) hexagon is 720°. Regular hexagon A regular hexagon is d ...

ring with six equivalent P–N bonds. Each phosphorus atom is additionally bonded to two

fluorine Fluorine is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol F and atomic number 9. It is the lightest halogen and exists at Standard temperature and pressure, standard conditions as pale yellow Diatomic molecule, diatomic gas. Fluorine is extre ...

atoms. The molecule possesses D_3h symmetry, and each phosphorus center is

tetrahedral In geometry, a tetrahedron (: tetrahedra or tetrahedrons), also known as a triangular pyramid, is a polyhedron composed of four triangular Face (geometry), faces, six straight Edge (geometry), edges, and four vertex (geometry), vertices. The tet ...

. The ring in

hexachlorophosphazene Hexachlorophosphazene is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . The molecule has a cyclic, unsaturated backbone consisting of alternating phosphorus and nitrogen atoms, and can be viewed as a trimer of the hypothetical compound (p ...

deviates from planarity and is slightly ruffled (see chair conformation). By contrast, the ring in hexafluorophosphazene is completely planar.

References

Fluorides Nitrogen heterocycles Inorganic compounds Nitrides Phosphorus heterocycles Six-membered rings Phosphazenes {{inorganic-compound-stub