| Chemical Properties | colourless oily liquid |
| Chemical Properties | Antimony pentafluoride is a noncombustible,
oily, colorless liquid with a pungent odor. |
| Physical properties | Colorless oily liquid; highly viscous; hygroscopic; freezes at 8.3°C; boils at 149.5°C; density 2.99 g/cm3 at 23°C; soluble in excess water (with violent reaction) and glacial acetic acid; also soluble in potassium fluoride. |
| Uses | HF/SbF5 is an excellent medium for the preparation of alkylidene oxonium salts.1 |
| Uses | In the fluorination of organic Compounds, see the monograph Preparation, Properties and Technology of Fluorine and Organic Fluoro Compounds, C. Slesser, S. R. Schram, Eds. (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1951) 868 pp. |
| Preparation | Antimony pentafluoride is prepared by the reaction of antimony pentachloride with anhydrous hydrogen fluoride:
SbCl5 +5 HF → SbF5 +5 HCl
It may also be prepared from antimony trifluoride and fluorine, or by treating antimony pentaoxide with aqueous hydrofluoric acid and evaporing water. |
| Definition | ChEBI: Antimony pentafluoride is an antimony molecular entity and an inorganic fluoride salt. It has a role as a Lewis acid. |
| General Description | A colorless, oily liquid. Fumes irritate the eyes and mucous membranes. Toxic. Corrosive to metals and tissue. Extremely dangerous to tissue; its burns may be followed by gangrene. Only shipped in cylinders. Under prolonged exposure to heat cylinders may violently rupture and rocket. Used to make other chemicals as well as a catalyst in the manufacture of other chemicals. |
| Reactivity Profile | ANTIMONY PENTAFLUORIDE is strongly acidic. Reacts vigorously with bases. When heated to decomposition, ANTIMONY PENTAFLUORIDE emits highly toxic fumes of fluorides and metallic antimony. Reacts with ammonia to form a diammoniate. |
| Hazard | Corrosive to skin and tissue. |
| Health Hazard | The compound is irritating to eyes, skin, and lungs. Contact with eyes or skin causes severe burns. The compound is extremely toxic with a probable oral lethal dose of 5-50 mg/kg or between 7 drops and one teaspoonful for a 150 pound person (antimony salts). |
| Fire Hazard | Reacts violently with water, to form poisonous hydrogen fluoride fumes. If confined and wet can cause explosion. May cause fire in contact with combustible material. Hazardous polymerization may not occur. |
| Safety Profile | A poison by inhalation.
A very reactive, corrosive liquid to skin,
eyes, mucous membranes. See also
FLUORIDES and ANTIMONY
COMPOUNDS. Violent reaction with
phosphates. When heated to decomposition
it emits very toxic fumes of F and Sb. |
| Potential Exposure | It is used as a catalyst in chemical
reactions or as a source of fluorine (fluorinating reagent) in
fluorination reactions. |
| Shipping | UN1732 Antimony pentafluoride, Hazard class:
8; Labels: 8-Corrosive material, 6.1-Poisonous materials. |
| Purification Methods | Purify it by vacuum distillation, preferably in a quartz apparatus, and store it in quartz or aluminum bottles. It is a hygroscopic viscous liquid which reacts violently with H2O and is hydrolysed by alkalis. It is POISONOUS and attacks the skin. [Woolf & Greenwood J Chem Soc 2200 1950, Kwasnik in Handbook of Preparative Inorganic Chemistry (Ed. Brauer) Academic Press Vol I p 200 1965.] |
| Incompatibilities | Water and other forms of moisture
releases hydrofluoric acid, combustible organic and siliceous
materials, phosphorus, and phosphate materials. Attacks glass,
ceramic, lead, and metals, including copper in the presence of
moisture. Incompatible with oxidizers (chlorates, nitrates, peroxides,
permanganates, perchlorates, chlorine, bromine, fluorine,
etc.); contact may cause fires or explosions. Keep away
from alkaline materials, strong bases, strong acids, oxoacids,
epoxides. Antimony pentafluoride, if confined and wet may
cause explosion. Antimony pentafluoride appears to have oxidizing
properties; may cause fire in contact with combustible
or organic materials. May react with metals, including lead,
releasing flammable hydrogen gas. |
| Waste Disposal | Consult with environmental
regulatory agencies for guidance on acceptable disposal
practices. Generators of waste containing this contaminant
(≥100 kg/mo) must conform with EPA regulations
governing storage, transportation, treatment, and waste
disposal. |
