On fluorine and other much more reactive species. Can we oxidize N2?

Despite its extreme reactivity, F₂ exists on planet earth enclosed in the minerals Antozonite and Villiaumite.

We then present insights into the chemical synthesis of fluorine which had long thought to be impossible and show the influence of SbF₅ on the decomposition of MnF₄ to F₂.

We then show videos featuring the extreme reactivity of F_2.

We venture on to platinum hexafluoride, which is known for its enormous oxidizing power surpassing that of fluorine. It gained its popularity mainly due to its ability to oxidize Xe, forming the first noble gas compound “XePtF₆”. In addition to Xe, PtF₆ is also able to oxidize various other compounds whose oxidation seemed impossible at the time. For example, NF₃ or ClF₅ can be oxidized to the coordinatively saturated cations [NF₄]⁺ or [ClF₆]⁺. However, the formation of [BrF₆]⁺ by the reaction of BrF₅ and PtF₆ is not possible. To oxidize BrF₅, even stronger oxidizing agents such as [KrF]⁺ or [NiF₃]⁺generated in situ are required.

We show that RuF₆ is able to oxidize all known halogen pentafluorides XF₅ (X = Cl, Br, I) at room temperature to the respective [XF₆]⁺ salts and that it even oxidizes PtF₄ and PtF₅ back to PtF₆. Therefore, RuF₆ is more reactive than PtF₆ under the investigated conditions.