Antimony trifluoride is the

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 SbF₃. Sometimes called Swarts' reagent, it is one of two principal

fluoride Fluoride (). According to this source, is a possible pronunciation in British English. is an Inorganic chemistry, inorganic, Monatomic ion, monatomic Ion#Anions and cations, anion of fluorine, with the chemical formula (also written ), whose ...

s of

antimony Antimony is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Sb () and atomic number 51. A lustrous grey metal or metalloid, it is found in nature mainly as the sulfide mineral stibnite (). Antimony compounds have been known since ancient t ...

, the other being SbF₅. It appears as a white solid. As well as some industrial applications, it is used as a

reagent In chemistry, a reagent ( ) or analytical reagent is a substance or compound added to a system to cause a chemical reaction, or test if one occurs. The terms ''reactant'' and ''reagent'' are often used interchangeably, but reactant specifies a ...

in inorganic and

organofluorine chemistry Organofluorine chemistry describes the chemistry of organofluorine compounds, organic compounds that contain a carbon–fluorine bond. Organofluorine compounds find diverse applications ranging from Lipophobicity, oil and hydrophobe, water repell ...

Preparation and structure

In solid SbF₃, the Sb centres have

octahedral molecular geometry In chemistry, octahedral molecular geometry, also called square bipyramidal, describes the shape of compounds with six atoms or groups of atoms or ligands symmetrically arranged around a central atom, defining the vertices of an octahedron. The o ...

and are linked by bridging fluoride

ligands In coordination chemistry, a ligand is an ion or molecule with a functional group that binds to a central metal atom to form a coordination complex. The bonding with the metal generally involves formal donation of one or more of the ligand's ...

. Three Sb–F bonds are short (192 pm) and three are long (261 pm). Because it is a polymer, SbF₃ is far less volatile than related compounds AsF₃ and SbCl₃. SbF₃ is prepared by treating

antimony trioxide Antimony(III) oxide is the inorganic compound with the formula Sb2O3. It is the most important commercial compound of antimony. It is found in nature as the minerals valentinite and senarmontite. Like most polymeric oxides, Sb2O3 dissolves in ...

with

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 ...

: :Sb₂O₃ + 6 HF → 2 SbF₃ + 3 H₂O The compound is a mild

Lewis acid A Lewis acid (named for the American physical chemist Gilbert N. Lewis) is a chemical species that contains an empty orbital which is capable of accepting an electron pair from a Lewis base to form a Lewis adduct. A Lewis base, then, is any ...

, hydrolyzing slowly in water. With fluorine, it is oxidized to give

antimony pentafluoride Antimony pentafluoride is the inorganic compound with the formula Sb F5. This colorless, viscous liquid is a strong Lewis acid and a component of the superacid fluoroantimonic acid, formed upon mixing liquid HF with liquid SbF5 in 1:1 ratio. It ...

. :SbF₃ + F₂ → SbF₅

Applications

It is used as a

fluorination In chemistry, halogenation is a chemical reaction which introduces one or more halogens into a chemical compound. Halide-containing compounds are pervasive, making this type of transformation important, e.g. in the production of polymers, drugs. ...

reagent in

organic chemistry Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the science, scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic matter, organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain ...

. This application was reported by the Belgian chemist Frédéric Jean Edmond Swarts in 1892, who demonstrated its usefulness for converting chloride compounds to

s. The method involved treatment with antimony trifluoride with

chlorine Chlorine is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate between ...

or with

antimony pentachloride Antimony pentachloride is a chemical compound with the formula SbCl5. It is a colourless oil, but typical samples are yellowish due to dissolved chlorine. Owing to its tendency to hydrolyse to hydrochloric acid, SbCl5 is a highly corrosive subs ...

to give the active species antimony trifluorodichloride (SbCl₂F₃). This compound can also be produced in bulk. The Swarts reaction is generally applied to the synthesis of

organofluorine compound Organofluorine chemistry describes the chemistry of organofluorine compounds, organic compounds that contain a carbon–fluorine bond. Organofluorine compounds find diverse applications ranging from oil and water repellents to pharmaceuticals, ...

s, but experiments have been performed using

silane Silane (Silicane) is an inorganic compound with chemical formula . It is a colorless, pyrophoric gas with a sharp, repulsive, pungent smell, somewhat similar to that of acetic acid. Silane is of practical interest as a precursor to elemental ...

s. It was once used for the industrial production of

freon Freon ( ) is a registered trademark of the Chemours Company and generic descriptor for a number of halocarbon products. They are stable, nonflammable, low toxicity gases or liquids which have generally been used as refrigerants and as aerosol p ...

. Other fluorine-containing

Lewis acids A Lewis acid (named for the American physical chemist Gilbert N. Lewis) is a chemical species that contains an empty orbital which is capable of accepting an electron pair from a Lewis base to form a Lewis adduct. A Lewis base, then, is any sp ...

serve as fluorinating agents in conjunction with

. SbF₃ is used in dyeing and in

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...

, to make ceramic enamels and glazes.

Safety

The lethal minimum dose (guinea pig, oral) is 100 mg/kg.Sabina C. Grund, Kunibert Hanusch, Hans J. Breunig, Hans Uwe Wolf “Antimony and Antimony Compounds” in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry 2006, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim.

References

External links

WebBook page for SbF3
{{DEFAULTSORT:Antimony Trifluoride Antimony(III) compounds Fluorides Metal halides Fluorinating agents