Sodium fluoroberyllate

Sodium fluoroberyllate is a chemical compound made of sodium, beryllium, and fluorine. It has the chemical formula . It is a salt of the sodium cation and tetrafluoroberyllate anion. Sodium fluoroberyllate is the main intermediate used to separate beryllium metal from ores like beryl.

 Production 
Sodium fluoroberyllate is made from ores containing beryllium oxide by reaction with sodium fluorosilicate. A simplified version of the reaction is shown here:

First, the sodium fluorosilicate splits into sodium fluoride and silicon tetrafluoride:

The silicon tetrafluoride then reacts with the beryllium oxide:

Beryllium fluoride reacts with fluoride anions to form a Lewis adduct, the tetrafluoroberyllate anion, which forms a salt with the sodium cations:

 Sources 

Category:Sodium compounds
Category:Beryllium compounds
Category:Fluorine compounds