Silver trifluoromethanesulfonate

Silver trifluoromethanesulfonate, or silver triflate is the triflate (CF₃SO₃⁻) salt of Ag⁺. It is a white or colorless solid that is soluble in water and some organic solvents including, benzene. It is a reagent used in the synthesis of organic and inorganic triflates.

Silver trifluoromethanesulfonate

Names
IUPAC name silver trifluoromethanesulfonate
Other names Silver triflate
Identifiers
CAS Number	2923-28-6changed
3D model (JSmol)	Interactive image
Abbreviations	AgOTf
ChemSpider	68705
ECHA InfoCard	100.018.985
EC Number	220-882-2
PubChem CID	76223
UNII	UK2MGY9YSF Y
CompTox Dashboard (EPA)	DTXSID5062716
InChI InChI=1S/CHF3O3S.Ag/c2-1(3,4)8(5,6)7;/h(H,5,6,7);/q;+1/p-1 Key: QRUBYZBWAOOHSV-UHFFFAOYSA-M
SMILES C(F)(F)(F)S(=O)(=O)[O-].[Ag+]
Properties
Chemical formula	CF3SO3Ag
Molar mass	256.937 g/mol
Odor	odorless
Melting point	286 °C (547 °F; 559 K)
Solubility in water	soluble
Hazards
GHS labelling:[1]
Pictograms
Signal word	Danger
Hazard statements	H315, H319, H335
Precautionary statements	P260, P261, P264, P271, P280, P301+P330+P331, P302+P352, P303+P361+P353, P304+P340, P305+P351+P338, P310, P312, P321, P332+P313, P337+P313, P362, P363, P403+P233, P405, P501
NFPA 704 (fire diamond)	1 0 0
Safety data sheet (SDS)	Oxford MSDS
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa). Y verify (what is YN ?) Infobox references

Synthesis

An early preparation method starts from the barium salt of trifluoromethanesulfonic acid (TfOH), from which the free TfOH is formed with dilute sulfuric acid, which is then neutralized with silver carbonate (Ag₂CO₃).^[2][3]

${\displaystyle {\ce {Ba^{2}+[{^{-}}OSO2CF3]2->[{\ce {H2SO4}}][-{\ce {BaSO4}}]CF3SO2OH->[{\ce {Ag2CO3}}]CF3SO2O^{-}Ag+}}}$

The silver triflate is thereby obtained in a yield of 95% and can be recrystallized from benzene/tetrachloromethane or ether/tetrachloromethane for purification.

In an improved version by George Whitesides, dilute TfOH is reacted with silver(I)oxide (Ag₂O), which produces AgOTf in 98% yield.^[4]

Reactions

It is used to prepare alkyl triflates from alkyl halides:^[5]

CF₃SO₂OAg + RX → CF₃SO₂OR + AgX (X = iodide usually)

In coordination chemistry, the salt is also useful to replace halide ligands with the more labile triflate ligand. For example, bromopentacarbonylrhenium can be converted to the more labile derivative using silver triflate:^[6]

CF₃SO₂OAg + BrRe(CO)₅ → CF₃SO₂ORe(CO)₅ + AgBr