A white water-soluble salt, it is one of the more important fluorides of niobium.

These two elements are generally found together in ores (e.g. columbite) and their separation presents a challenge since they form very similar compounds.

The basis of their separation hinges on the stability and solubility of the fluorides and oxyfluorides.

The anion has approximate C2v symmetry, being a face-capped trigonal prism.

[5] Spectroscopic measurements indicate that the heptafluoride converts to the hexafluoride in solution.