Gold heptafluoride
chemical compound
Gold heptafluoride is a gold(V) compound with the empirical formula AuF7. The synthesis of this compound from gold pentafluoride and a monatomic fluorine plasma was first reported in 1986. However, current calculations suggest that the structure of the synthesized molecule was actually a difluorine ligand on a gold pentafluoride core, AuF5·F2. That would make it the first difluorine complex and the first compound containing a fluorine atom with an oxidation state of zero. The gold(V)–difluorine complex is calculated to be 205 kJ/mol more stable than "true" gold(VII) fluoride. The vibrational frequency at 734 cm−1 is the hallmark of the end-on coordinated difluorine molecule.
Gold heptafluoride decomposes at 100 °C to gold(V) fluoride releasing fluorine gas:
AuF5·F2 → AuF5 + F2
It also undergoes hydrolysis in water.
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