Protactinium tetrafluoride is a binary
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 ...
of
protactinium
Protactinium is a chemical element; it has symbol Pa and atomic number 91. It is a dense, radioactive, silvery-gray actinide metal which readily reacts with oxygen, water vapor, and inorganic acids. It forms various chemical compounds, in which p ...
metal and
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 ...
with the chemical formula .
Synthesis
Protactinium tetrafluoride can be obtained by fluorinating
protactinium(IV) oxide with a hydrogen fluoride / hydrogen mixture at 600 °C:
:
The effect of
hydrogen fluoride
Hydrogen fluoride (fluorane) is an Inorganic chemistry, inorganic compound with chemical formula . It is a very poisonous, colorless gas or liquid that dissolves in water to yield hydrofluoric acid. It is the principal industrial source of fluori ...
and hydrogen on
protactinium(V) oxide:
:
Physical properties
forms dark brown,
monoclinic
In crystallography, the monoclinic crystal system is one of the seven crystal systems. A crystal system is described by three Vector (geometric), vectors. In the monoclinic system, the crystal is described by vectors of unequal lengths, as in t ...
, needlelike crystals of
structure.
The cell parameters are: a = 1.27 nm, b = 1.07 nm, c = 0.842 nm, β = 126.3°.
The compound is soluble in aqueous ammonium fluoride solutions.
Chemical properties
Protactinium tetrafluoride reacts with oxygen and fluorine:
:
:
The compound reacts with alkalis:
:
The metal is displaced from the salt by barium:
:
References
{{Actinide halides
Protactinium compounds
Fluorine compounds
Fluorides