Like ClF3 and IF3 the BrF3molecule is T-shaped. With the two electron pairs the coordination number is 5. The distance from the bromine each axial fluorine is 1.81 Å and to the equatorial fluorine is 1.72 Å. The angle between an axial fluorine and the equatorial fluorine is slightly smaller than 90° — the 86.2° angle observed is due to the repulsion generated by the electron pairs being greater than that of the Br-F bonds.[4][5]
Chemistry and Properties
Liquid BrF3 is conducting and this is attributed to dissociation:[2]
BrF3 ⇌ BrF2+ + BrF4−
Many ionic fluorides dissolve readily in BrF3 forming solvobases[2] e.g.
KF + BrF3 → KBrF4
References
^ Lebeau P. (1906). "The effect of fluorine on chloride and on bromine". Annales de Chimie et de Physique9: 241–263.
^ abc Greenwood, N. N.; Earnshaw, A. (1997). Chemistry of the Elements, 2nd Edition, Oxford:Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 0-7506-3365-4.