Kalpana Kalpana (Editor)

Zinc fluoride

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Formula
  
ZnF2

Melting point
  
872 °C

Molar mass
  
103.406 g/mol

Boiling point
  
1,500 °C

Zinc fluoride httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommons22

Appearance
  
white needles hygroscopic

Solubility in water
  
000052 g/100 mL (anhydrous); 1.52 g/100 mL, 20 °C (tetrahydrate)

Solubility
  
sparingly soluble in HCl, HNO3, ammonia

Crystal structure
  
tetragonal (anhydrous), tP6

Zinc fluoride (ZnF2) is an inorganic chemical compound. It is encountered as the anydrous form and also as the tetrahydrate, ZnF2 · 4H2O (rhombohedral crystal structure). It has a high melting point and has the rutile structure containing 6 coordinate zinc, which suggests appreciable ionic character in its chemical bonding. Unlike the other zinc halides, ZnCl2, ZnBr2 and ZnI2, it is not very soluble in water.

Preparation and reactions

Zinc fluoride can be synthesized several ways.

  • Reaction of a fluoride salt with zinc chloride, to yield zinc fluoride and a chloride salt, in aqueous solution.
  • The reaction of zinc metal with fluorine gas.
  • Reaction of hydrofluoric acid with zinc, to yield hydrogen gas (H2) and zinc fluoride (ZnF2).
  • Zinc fluoride can be hydrolysed by hot water to form the zinc hydroxyfluoride, Zn(OH)F.

    References

    Zinc fluoride Wikipedia