Xenon hexafluoroplatinate

Xenon hexafluoroplatinate is the product of the reaction of platinum hexafluoride and xenon, in an experiment that proved the chemical reactivity of the noble gases. This experiment was performed by Neil Bartlett at the University of British Columbia, who formulated the product as "Xe⁺[PtF₆]⁻", although subsequent work suggests that Bartlett's product was probably a mixture and did not in fact contain this specific salt.

"Xenon hexafluoroplatinate" is prepared from xenon and platinum hexafluoride (PtF₆) as gaseous solutions in SF₆. The reactants are combined at 77 K and slowly warmed, to allow for a controlled reaction.

The material described originally as "xenon hexafluoroplatinate" is probably not Xe⁺[PtF₆]⁻. The main problem with this formulation is "Xe⁺", which would be a radical and would dimerize or abstract an F atom to give XeF⁺. Thus, Bartlett discovered that Xe undergoes chemical reactions, but the nature and purity of his initial mustard yellow product remains uncertain. Further work indicates that Bartlett's product probably contained [XeF]⁺[PtF₅]⁻, [XeF]⁺[Pt₂F₁₁]⁻, and [Xe₂F₃]⁺[PtF₆]⁻. The title "compound" is a salt, consisting of an octahedral anionic fluoride complex of platinum and various xenon cations.

It has been proposed that the platinum fluoride forms a negatively charged polymeric network with xenon or xenon fluoride cations held in its interstices. A preparation of "XePtF₆" in HF solution results in a solid which has been characterized as a [PtF
5]−
polymeric network associated with XeF⁺. This result is evidence for such a polymeric structure of xenon hexafluoroplatinate.