Arsenic pentafluoride is a chemical compound of arsenic and fluorine. It is a toxic, colorless gas. The oxidation state of arsenic is +5.
Arsenic pentafluoride can be prepared by direct combination of arsenic and fluorine:
It can also be prepared by the reaction of arsenic trifluoride and fluorine:
or the addition of fluorine to arsenic pentoxide or arsenic trioxide.
Arsenic pentafluoride is a colourless gas and has a trigonal bipyramidal structure. In the solid state the axial AsâÂÂF bond lengths are 171.9 pm and the equatorial 166.8 pm. Its point group is D3h.
Arsenic pentafluoride forms halide complexes and is a powerful fluoride acceptor. An example is the reaction with sulfur tetrafluoride, forming an ionic hexafluoroarsenate complex.