Ruthenium hexafluoride, also ruthenium(VI) fluoride (RuF6), is a compound of ruthenium and fluorine and one of the seventeen known binary hexafluorides.
History and synthesis
Ruthenium hexafluoride was discovered by American radiochemists in 1961, soon after the discovery of technetium hexafluoride.[3] It is made by a direct reaction of ruthenium metal in a gas stream of fluorine and argon at 400–450 °C. The yields of this reaction are less than 10%.[4]
Ru + 3 F 2 → RuF 6
Description
Ruthenium hexafluoride is a dark brown crystalline solid that melts at 54 °C.[1] The solid structure measured at −140 °C is orthorhombic space group Pnma. Lattice parameters are a = 9.313 Å, b = 8.484 Å, and c = 4.910 Å. There are four formula units (in this case, discrete molecules) per unit cell, giving a density of 3.68 g·cm−3.[4]
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