Abstract:
A fluorinating agent having an empirical formula which comprises FOIF 4  O whereby said fluorinating agent is prepared by a metathetical reaction of solutions of NF 4  SbF 6  and CsIF 4  O 2  in anhydrous HF, removing the precipitated CsSbF 6  and HF solvent, followed by thermal decomposition of the filtrate residue.

Description:
The Government has rights in this invention pursuant to Contract (or grant) NOOO14-79-C-0176 awarded by the U.S. Department of the Navy. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to fluorinating agents and, more specifically, to iodine (VII) oxytetrafluorohypofluorite and the process for its preparation. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     The number of elements known to form stable hypofluorites is very limited. They are known only for carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, selenium, fluorine, and chlorine containing compounds. In addition, the unstable hypofluorous acid, HOF, has been prepared. However, no iodine hypofluorites had been known prior to this invention. 
     Inorganic hypofluorites are generally prepared by the alkali metal fluoride catalyzed fluorination of the corresponding oxyfluorides by elemental fluorine (Lustig and Shreeve, Advances in Fluorine Chemistry, Vol. 7, pages 175-198, 1973). In the case of iodine compounds, this method does not lead to the formation of iodine hypofluorites, as demonstrated by extensive experiments in the inventors&#39; laboratory. 
     Recent work in the inventors&#39; laboratory has resulted in an alternate synthetic method for the hypofluorites FOClO 3  and FOSO 2  F. It was found that the NF 4   +  ClO 4   -  and NF 4   +  SO 3  F -  salts, which were isolated from a metathetical reaction of NF 4  SbF 6  with CsClO 4  or CsSO 3  F in anhydrous HF solution, on thermal decomposition yield the corresponding hypofluorites, FOClO 3  and FOSO 2  F. However, application of this approach to CsIO 4  failed because CsIO 4  interacts with HF to give fluorinated products, as demonstrated by Selig and coworkers (Journal Inorganic Nuclear Chemistry, Supplement, 91, 1976). Furthermore, it was shown by the inventors that Cs +  IF 4  O 2   - , when dissolved in anhydrous HF undergoes solvolysis to produce Cs +  HF 2   -  and HOIF 4  O. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, there is provided by the present invention iodine (VII) oxytetrafluorohypofluorite (FOIF 4  O) and a process for preparing the same. The interaction of CsIF 4  O 2  with NF 4  SbF 6  in anhydrous HF results in solutions containing NF 4   + , HF 2   - , and HOIF 4  O. On standing or when pumped to dryness, these mixtures decompose to yield NF 3  and the new compound FOIF 4  O in high yield. The latter compound is the first known example of an iodine hypofluorite. 
     OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
     Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide a fluorinating agent. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide a high-density oxidizer for pyrotechnics. 
     Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a compound capable of introducing fluorine into drugs. 
     A further object of the present invention is to provide a process for preparing iodine hypofluorites. 
     Other objects, advantages, and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     In view of the previous art, it appeared very unlikely that any iodine hypofluorites could be prepared. Direct fluorinations with elemental fluorine do not produce hypofluorites, metathetical reactions of IO 4   -  in anhydrous HF are impossible because IO 4   -  chemically reacts with HF to give other products, and the synthesis of an NF 4   +  IF 4  O 2   -  salt was not possible due to the solvolysis of IF 4  O 2   -  to give HOIF 4  O. 
     Surprisingly, it was now found that the product from a low-temperature metathetical reaction between NF 4  SbF 6  and CsIF 4  O 2  in anhydrous HF solution, when warmed to ambient temperature, produces an iodine hypofluorite in high yield. The first step of this reaction involved the following reaction: ##STR1## The CsSbF 6  precipitate could be easily filtered off at -78° C. and Raman and F NMR spectoscopy of the filtrate showed the presence of NF 4   +  and HOIF 4  O with no evidence for the IF 4  O 2   -  anion. This is in agreement with the above results for CsIF 4  O 2  which demonstrated that MIF 4  O 2  salts undergo solvolysis in anhydrous HF according to: 
     
         MIF.sub.4 O.sub.2 +2HF→MHF.sub.2 +HOIF.sub.4 O 
    
     Raman and F NMR specta showed that these NF 4  HF 2  -HOIF 4  O containing HF solutions are unstable at room temperature and slowly decompose to NF 3  and a new compound identified as a mixture of cis and trans FOIF 4  O. ##STR2## At the same time, the relative intensities of the NF 4   +  and HOIF 4  O signals decreased accordingly. When the HF solvent was pumped off at -30° C. from a freshly-prepared NF 4  HF 2  -HOIF 4  O solution, a white solid residue was obtained. The low-temperature Raman spectrum of this solid showed the presence of the NF 4   +  cation, but the remaining bands were too broad to permit a positive distinction between IF 4  O 2   - , HOIF 4  O and possibly some HF 2   - .nHF. The new compound FOIF 4  O was obtained in high yield by decomposing at room temperature this thermally unstable solid, with the by-product being NF 3 . Since the same products were obtained from HF solutions which, based on their F NMR and Raman spectra, contained only HOIF 4  O but not IF 4  O 2   - , it appears that FOIF 4  O is formed by fluorination of HOIF 4  O by either NF 4   +  or nascent fluorine formed during the thermal decomposition of the marginally stable NF 4   +  HF 2 .sup. -.nHF. 
     By way of example and not limitation, the following synthesis of FOIF 4  O is given. In a typical experiment, CsIF 4  O 2  (5.0 mmol) and NF 4  SbF 6  (5.0 mmol) were placed in a Teflon-FEP metathesis apparatus and anhydrous HF (5 ml liquid) was condensed in at -78° C. The mixture was stirred for one hour at room temperature. The apparatus was cooled to -78° C., inverted and the white precipitate was separated from the solution by pressure filtration. Most of the HF solvent was pumped off over several hours at temperatures ranging from -64° to -30° C. The resulting white solid residue was allowed to decompose during slow warm-up from -30° C. to ambient. The volatile products were passed through a Teflon U-trap containing passivated NaF pellets, followed by a series of cold traps kept at -78°, -95°, -112° and -210° C. The -89° C. trap contained a small amount of unidentified material which was discarded, the -95° C. fraction consisted of pure FOIF 4  O (2.36 mmol), the -112° C. trap had 1.69 mmol of FOIF 4  O containing a small amount of IF 5  O as impurity, and the contents of the -210° C. trap consisted of NF 3  (4.0 mmol). A small amount of white solid residue, which was left behind after the thermal decomposition of the filtrate, was shown by vibrational spectroscopy to consist mainly of trans-CsIF 4  O 2 . The filter cake (1.8 g) was identified by Raman spectroscopy as CsSbF 6 . The -95° C. fraction was used for the characterization of HOIF 4  O and was shown by vibrational and F NMR analysis to be free of IF 5  O. 
     For the elemental analysis, 278.7 mg of the material was condensed at -196° C. into an ampule containing 12 ml of frozen 1 N NaOH. The mixture was warmed to ambient temperature for twelve hours and then analyzed for total iodine by energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, for IO 4   -  by iodometric titration, for base consumption by back titration with 0.1 N HCl using a pH electrode and for fluoride by titration using La(NO 3 ) 3  and an anion specific ion electrode. Anal. calcd for FOIF 4  O: I, 49.98; F, 37.42; OH -  consumed, 6.0 equiv/mol; iodometric titration, 8.0 equiv/mol, assuming the following hydrolysis reaction: 
     
         FOIF.sub.4 O+6OH.sup.- →IO.sub.4.sup.- +5F.sup.- +0.5O.sub.2 (g)+3H.sub.2 O 
    
     Found: I, 50.0; F, 36.0; OH -  consumed, 6.1 equiv/mol; iodometric titration, 7.8 equiv/mol. 
     Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.