Einsteinium trifluoride


Einsteinium fluoride is a binary inorganic chemical compound of einsteinium and fluorine with the chemical formula.

Synthesis

Einsteinium fluoride can be precipitated from einsteinium(III) chloride solutions upon reaction with fluoride ions. An alternative preparation procedure is to expose einsteinium(III) oxide to chlorine trifluoride or F2 gas at a pressure of 1–2 atmospheres and a temperature between 300 and 400 °C. The EsF3 crystal structure is hexagonal, as in californium(III) fluoride where the Es3+ ions are 8-fold coordinated by fluorine ions in a bicapped trigonal prism arrangement.

Physical properties

The compound forms crystals and is insoluble in water.

Chemical properties

The compound is reduced by metallic lithium: