Niobium(V) fluoride
Niobium fluoride, also known as niobium pentafluoride, is the inorganic compound with the formula NbF5. It is a colorless solid.
Preparation and structure
Niobium pentafluoride is obtained by treatment of any niobium compound with fluorine:As shown by X-ray crystallography, the solid consists of tetramers 4. This structure is related to that for WOF4.
Reactions
It reacts with hydrogen fluoride to give H2NbF7, a superacid. In hydrofluoric acid, NbF5 converts to 2- and 2-. The relative solubility of is the basis of the Marignac process for separation of Nb and Ta.NbCl5 forms a dimeric structure in contrast to the corner-shared tetrameric structure of the fluoride.