Antimony trifluoride

Antimony trifluoride, SbF3, sometimes called Swart's reagent is a fluoride of antimony. It appears as a light grey crystalline material often used in dyeing and pottery. AsF3 can be prepared by reacting antimony trioxide, Sb2O3, with HF or by direct reaction of the elements. In the solid state molecules of SbF3 are linked by fluorine bridges so that each Sb atom has a coordination number of 6.

The substance is highly corrosive and can burn skin and cause eye damage. It can also damage other organs such as the heart, liver and kidneys and cause ulcers.

It is used as a fluorination reagent in organic chemistry.

It was first used as a fluorination reagent by the belgium chemist Frédéric Jean Edmond Swarts in 1892.