Ammonium fluoride
Ammonium fluoride is the inorganic compound with the formula NH4F. It crystallizes as small colourless prisms, having a sharp saline taste, and is exceedingly soluble in water.
Crystal structure
Ammonium fluoride adopts the wurtzite crystal structure, in which both the ammonium cations and the fluoride anions are stacked in ABABAB... layers, each being tetrahedrally surrounded by four of the other. There are NH...F hydrogen bonds between the anions and cations. This structure is very similar to ice, and ammonium fluoride is the only substance which can form mixed crystals with water.
Reactions
On passing hydrogen fluoride gas (in excess) through the salt, ammonium fluoride absorbs the gas to form the addition compound ammonium bifluoride. The reaction occurring is:
It sublimes when heated—a property common among ammonium salts. In the sublimation, the salt decomposes to ammonia and hydrogen fluoride, and the two gases can recombine to give ammonium fluoride, i.e. the reaction is reversible:
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