Synthesis, properties and chemistry of xenon(II) fluoride

Abstract

This paper presents a brief review of the basic information regarding xenon(II) fluoride such as the synthesis of a pure compound, its physical and chemical properties, its solubility in major inorganic solvents, safe handling and the use of spectroscopic methods (IR, Raman, NMR) for the characterization of its compounds. The use of XeF 2 as fluorinating and oxidizing agent is shown. The reactions of XeF 2 with different Lewis acids and the formation of XeF + and Xe 2 F 3 + salts are briefly described. The major part of this review is the presentation of XeF 2 as a ligand to metal ions. Different synthetic routes for the preparation of new coordination compounds of the type [M n+ (XeF 2 ) p ](AF 6 - ) n are given together with the influence of the cation and the anion on the structural features of these compounds. The possibility of predicting the structure of these new compounds, knowing only the properties of the cation and the anion, is analyzed.