Osmium hexafluoride

Synthesis

Osmium hexafluoride is made by a direct reaction of osmium metal exposed to an excess of elemental fluorine gas at 300 °C.

: + 3 →

Description

Osmium hexafluoride is a yellow crystalline solid that melts at 33.4 °C and boils at 47.5 °C. The solid structure measured at −140 °C is orthorhombic space group Pnma. Lattice parameters are a = 9.387 Å, b = 8.543 Å, and c = 4.944 Å. There are four formula units (in this case, discrete molecules) per unit cell, giving a density of 5.09 g·cm−3.

The OsF6 molecule itself (the form important for the liquid or gas phase) has octahedral molecular geometry, which has point group (Oh). The Os–F bond length is 1.827 Å.

Partial hydrolysis of OsF6 produces OsOF4.

References

References

1. (2006). "Solid State Molecular Structures of Transition Metal Hexafluorides". Inorganic Chemistry.
2. Paine, R. T.. (1 June 1973). "Partial hydrolysis of rhenium and osmium hexafluorides. An improved synthesis and characterization of rhenium oxide tetrafluoride". Inorganic Chemistry.
3. ''[[CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics]]'', 90th Edition, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, 2009, {{ISBN. 978-1-4200-9084-0, Section 4, ''Physical Constants of Inorganic Compounds'', p. 4-85.
4. (2006). "Solid State Molecular Structures of Transition Metal Hexafluorides". [[Inorganic Chemistry (journal).