In 1933, Linus Pauling predicted that the heavier noble gases could form compounds with fluorine and oxygen. He predicted the existence of krypton hexafluoride () and xenon hexafluoride () and speculated that xenon octafluoride () might exist as an unstable compound, and suggested that xenic acid could form perxenate salts. These predictions were shown to be generally accurate, except that is now thought to be both thermodynamically and kinetically unstable.
In 1933, Linus Pauling predicted that the heavier noble gases could form compounds with fluorine and oxygen. He predicted the existence of krypton hexafluoride () and xenon hexafluoride () and speculated that xenon octafluoride () might exist as an unstable compound, and suggested that xenic acid could form perxenate salts. These predictions were shown to be generally accurate, except that is now thought to be both thermodynamically and kinetically unstable.