SbF5
Antimony pentafluoride · Antimony(V) fluoride
Antimony pentafluoride is a powerful, thermodynamically stable Lewis acid widely used as a key component in superacid chemistry.
About Antimony pentafluoride
Antimony pentafluoride is a highly reactive inorganic compound recognized for its exceptional Lewis acidity. As a thermodynamically stable species, it serves as a foundational component in the synthesis of powerful superacid systems, which are essential for facilitating difficult chemical transformations. Its insulating electronic character underscores its role as a specialized reagent rather than a conductive material. Due to its intense reactivity, it is handled with extreme care in industrial and laboratory settings. It remains a subject of significant interest in structural chemistry, with numerous documented configurations reflecting its complex coordination behavior.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Antimony pentafluoride, aggregated across 3 databases.
Band GapEnergy needed to move an electron from the valence band to the conduction band. Lower or zero values tend to behave more metallic; larger gaps are more insulating or semiconducting.
Energy Above HullThermodynamic distance from the most stable set of competing phases. 0 eV/atom is on the convex hull; small positive values may still be experimentally accessible.
StabilityA plain-language summary of the best reported energy-above-hull result. It reflects whether the lowest-energy structure is on, near, or far from the stability hull.
StructuresCount of reported calculated crystal structures for this formula, including alternate polymorphs, source databases, and observed space groups.
Cross-Source DFT Agreement
How well independent DFT databases agree on the thermodynamics of SbF5. Tight agreement means computed properties can be trusted without re-running calculations.
Agreement ScoreA normalized confidence score summarizing how closely independent DFT databases agree. Higher scores mean tighter cross-source agreement.
Hull SpreadDifference between the highest and lowest energy-above-hull values reported by comparable sources. Smaller spread means less thermodynamic disagreement.
Sources ComparedNumber and names of computational sources with comparable entries for this formula.
Space Group ConsensusWhether independent sources predict the same crystal symmetry for the lowest-energy structure.
Reported Structures
Lowest-energy structures reported for SbF5, ranked by energy above hull.
| Space GroupSymmetry classification of the crystal arrangement. The number is the international space-group index. | Crystal SystemBroad lattice family, such as cubic, tetragonal, monoclinic, or triclinic, derived from unit-cell symmetry. | Band Gap (eV)Electronic gap calculated for this specific reported structure, measured in electronvolts. | E above hull (eV/atom)Thermodynamic distance from the convex hull for this structure, normalized per atom. Lower is generally more stable. | E/atom (eV)Computed total energy normalized per atom. Use energy above hull, not this value alone, when comparing stability. | Density (g/cm³)Mass per relaxed crystal volume, reported in grams per cubic centimeter. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P21/c (No. 14) | monoclinic | 4.64 | 0.0000 | -4.856 | 4.00 |
| Cmcm (No. 63) | orthorhombic | 1.71 | 0.0000 | -1.993 | — |
| Cmcm (No. 63) | orthorhombic | 1.71 | 0.0000 | -1.993 | — |
| P-1 (No. 2) | triclinic | 3.63 | 0.0009 | -4.856 | 3.47 |
| — | — | 3.75 | 0.0031 | -2.460 | — |
| — | — | 3.82 | 0.0045 | -2.458 | — |
| — | — | 3.37 | 0.0076 | -2.455 | — |
| — | — | 3.60 | 0.0245 | -2.438 | — |
| — | — | 3.97 | 0.0506 | -2.412 | — |
| Immm (No. 71) | orthorhombic | 0.57 | 0.0706 | -1.922 | — |
| Immm (No. 71) | orthorhombic | 0.57 | 0.0706 | -1.922 | — |
| — | — | 3.17 | 0.0720 | -2.391 | — |
Applications
Where Antimony pentafluoride is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Antimony pentafluoride, answered from cross-validated data.
What is SbF5?
Antimony pentafluoride is a powerful, thermodynamically stable Lewis acid widely used as a key component in superacid chemistry.
What is SbF5 used for?
What is the band gap of SbF5?
Is SbF5 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is SbF5 thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of SbF5?
What is the density of SbF5?
How many polymorphs of SbF5 are known?
What elements does SbF5 contain?
Where does the data for SbF5 come from?
How It Compares
As a standalone reagent in its class, antimony pentafluoride is distinguished by its extreme chemical potency and its ability to act as one of the strongest known Lewis acids, setting a high benchmark for reactivity compared to less aggressive fluorinated compounds.
Data sources & attribution
- materials_project — Data from the Materials Project (materialsproject.org). Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013). (CC-BY-4.0)
- jarvis — Data from JARVIS (jarvis.nist.gov), NIST. Cite: Choudhary et al., npj Comp. Mater. 6, 173 (2020). (LicenseRef-US-Gov-PD)
- oqmd — Data from the OQMD (oqmd.org). Cite: Saal et al., JOM 65, 1501 (2013); Kirklin et al., npj Comp. Mater. 1, 15010 (2015). (CC-BY-4.0)
- mpaloe — Data from MP-ALOE. Cite: Kuner et al., npj Comput. Mater. (2025), doi:10.1038/s41524-025-01834-9.
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