Chemistry
Like several related compounds, hexafluorosilicic acid does not exist as a discrete species; that is, a material with the formula H2SiF6 has not been isolated. Hexafluorosilicic acid refers to an equilibrium mixture with hexafluorosilicate anion (SiF62−) in an aqueous solution or other solvents that contain strong proton donors at low pH (acids described similarly include chloroplatinic acid, fluoroboric acid, and hexafluorophosphoric acid, and, more commonly, carbonic acid). Distillation of hexafluorosilicic acid solutions produces no molecules of H2SiF6; instead the vapor consists of HF, SiF4, and water. Aqueous solutions of H2SiF6 contain the hexafluorosilicate anion, SiF62− and protonated water. In this octahedral anion, the Si-F bond distances are 1.71 Å.
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