chemistry

Gold(V) fluoride

Gold(V) fluoride is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Gold(V) fluoride rather than just read about it. In short: Gold(V) fluoride is the inorganic compound with the formula Au2F10. This fluoride compound features gold in its highest known oxidation state.

Key takeaways

Gold(V) fluoride belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Gold(V) fluoride to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Gold(V) fluoride from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Gold(V) fluoride is the inorganic compound with the formula Au2F10. This fluoride compound features gold in its highest known oxidation state. This red solid dissolves in hydrogen fluoride but these solutions decompose, liberating fluorine. The structure of gold(V) fluoride in the solid state is centrosymmetric with hexacoordinated gold and an octahedral arrangement of the fluoride centers on each gold center. It is the only known dimeric pentafluoride, although sulfur can form disulfur decafluoride; other pentafluorides are monomeric (P, As, Sb, Cl, Br, I), tetrameric (Nb, Ta, Cr, Mo, W, Tc, Re, Ru, Os, Rh, Ir, Pt), or polymeric (Bi, V, U). In the gas phase, a mixture of dimer and trimer in the ratio 82:18 has been observed. Gold pentafluoride is the strongest known fluoride ion acceptor, exceeding the acceptor tendency of even antimony pentafluoride; and is also the strongest known Lewis acid.

Synthesis Gold(V) fluoride can be synthesized by heating gold metal in an atmosphere of oxygen and fluorine to 370 °C at 8 atmospheres to form dioxygenyl hexafluoroaurate:

Au(s) + O2(g) + 3 F2(g) → O2AuF6(s) This salt decomposes at 180 °C to produce the pentafluoride:

2 O2AuF6(s) → Au2F10 (s) + 2 O2(g) + F2(g) Krypton difluoride can also oxidise gold to the +5 oxidation state:

7 KrF2 (g) + 2 Au (s) → 2 KrF+AuF−6 (s) + 5 Kr (g) KrF+AuF−6 decomposes at 60 °C into gold(V) fluoride and gaseous krypton and fluorine:

2 KrF+AuF−6 → Au2F10 (s) + 2 Kr (g) + 2 F2 (g)

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Gold(V) fluoride

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Gold(V) fluoride claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Gold(V) fluoride before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Gold(V) fluoride ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Gold(V) fluoride

In research: Gold(V) fluoride appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Gold(V) fluoride in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Gold(V) fluoride is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Dimers (chemistry), Fluorides, Four-membered rings, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Gold(V) fluoride outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Gold(V) fluoride” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Gold(V) fluoride in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Gold(V) fluoride means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Gold(V) fluoride out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gold(V) fluoride in simple terms?

Gold(V) fluoride is the inorganic compound with the formula Au2F10. This fluoride compound features gold in its highest known oxidation state.

Why does Gold(V) fluoride matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Gold(V) fluoride?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Gold(V) fluoride.