Syntheses and vibrational spectra of xenon(VI) fluorozirconate(IV) and xenon(VI) fluorohafnate(IV)

Liquid xenon difluoride at 140°C does not react with zirconium or hafnium tetrafluorides, neither does liquid xenon hexafluoride at 60°C. Therefore reactions between the corresponding hydrazinium fluorometalates or ammonium fluorometalates and xenon difluoride and xenon hexafluoride, respectively, were carried out. N₂H₆ZrF₆ and N₂H₆HfF₆ react with xenon difluoride at 60°C again yielding only the corresponding tetrafluorides, while the analogous reaction with (NH₄)₂ZrF₆ and (NH₄)₂HfF₆ proceeds at 170°C yielding the corresponding ammonium pentafluorometalates, which are stable and do not react further with excessive xenon difluoride up to 200°C.The reaction between N₂H₆ZrF₆ or N₂H₆HfF₆ and xenon hexafluoride proceeds at room temperature yielding a series of thermally unstable compounds of the type mXeF₆.MF₄ (M = Zr, Hf) where m ? 6. The final products which are stable at room temperature are XeF₆.MF₄ (M = Zr,Hf). Spectroscopic evidence suggests that these compounds are salts of a XeF⁺₅ cation squashed between a polymeric anion of the type (MF₅)^x-_x.