Zinc fluoride is an inorganic chemical compound with the chemical formula ZnF2. It is encountered as the anhydrous form and also as the tetrahydrate, ZnF2·4H2O (rhombohedral crystal structure).[2] It has a high melting point and has the rutile structure containing 6 coordinate zinc, which suggests appreciable ionic character in its chemical bonding.[3] Unlike the other zinc halides, ZnCl2, ZnBr2 and ZnI2, it is not very soluble in water.[3]
Like some other metal difluorides, ZnF2 crystallizes in the rutile structure, which features octahedral Zn cations and trigonal planar fluorides.[4]
Preparation and reactions
Zinc fluoride can be synthesized several ways.
- The reaction of zinc metal with fluorine gas.[3]
- Reaction of hydrofluoric acid with zinc, to yield hydrogen gas (H2) and zinc fluoride (ZnF2).[3]
Zinc fluoride can be hydrolysed by hot water to form the zinc hydroxide fluoride, Zn(OH)F.[5]
The salt is believed to form both a tetrahydrate and a dihydrate.[6]
References
- ^ "ZINC fluoride". pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
- ^ Perry, D. L.; Phillips, S. L. (1995). Handbook of Inorganic Compounds. CRC Press. ISBN 0-8493-8671-3.
- ^ a b c d Greenwood, Norman N.; Earnshaw, Alan (1997). Chemistry of the Elements (2nd ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 978-0-08-037941-8.
- ^ Stout, J. W.; Reed, Stanley A. (1954). "The Crystal Structure of MnF2, FeF2, CoF2, NiF2 and ZnF2". J. Am. Chem. Soc. 76 (21): 5279–5281. doi:10.1021/ja01650a005.
- ^ Srivastava, O. K.; Secco, E. A. (1967). "Studies on Metal Hydroxy Compounds. I. Thermal Analyses of Zinc Derivatives ε-Zn(OH)2, Zn5(OH)8Cl2 · H2O, β-ZnOHCl, and ZnOHF". Canadian Journal of Chemistry. 45 (6): 579–583. doi:10.1139/v67-096.
- ^ Lindahl, Charles B.; Mahmood, Tariq (2000), "Fluorine compounds, inorganic, zinc", Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, New York: John Wiley, doi:10.1002/0471238961.2609140312091404.a01, ISBN 9780471238966