Graphite intercalation compounds of noble gas fluorides

The noble gas compounds XeF₄, XeF₆ and XeOF₄ are capable of intercalating directly with graphite to give compounds of approximate stoichiometrics C₂₆XeF₄, C₄₀XeF₄, C₁₉XeF₆, and C_{8. 7}XeOF₄. Xenon difluoride reacts with graphite only in the presence of HF to give intercalates of variable composition containing both XeF₂ and HF, while krypton difluoride reacts with simultaneous fluorination of the graphite and intercalation of KrF₂. Broad line ¹⁹F nmr measurements show that some of the xenon fluorides are intercalated as more than one species. Combined thermogravimetric and mass speetrometric analyses of some of the intercalates are presented and discussed. The intercalated fluorides are much less reactive than in the neat state and are easily handled outside the vacuum line. They are less prone to hydrolysis. This makes them useful as a potential new class of mild fluorinating agents in organic chemistry. The fluorinating properties of some of the intercalates are compared to that of XeF₂ used as a standard as applied to polycyclic aromatic systems.