Europium(III) chloride

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Europium(III) chloride
Crystals of europium(III) chloride hexahydrate
Other names Europium trichloride
Identifiers
CAS number [10025-76-0] (anhydr.)
EINECS number 233-040-4
RTECS number LE7525000
Properties
Molecular formula EuCl3
Molar mass 258.32 g/mol (anhydr.)
Melting point

632 °C decomp.
Solubility in other solvents Soluble
Except where noted otherwise, data are given for
materials in their standard state
(at 25 °C, 100 kPa)
Infobox disclaimer and references

Europium(III) chloride is a compound of europium and chlorine with the molecular formula EuCl3.

Contents

[edit] Properties

Europium trichloride is a yellow solid which begins to decompose at or below its melting point to give at least some EuCl2. Being hygroscopic it rapidly absorbs water on exposure to moist air to form a white crystalline hexahydrate, EuCl3.6H2O (Mr = 366.41 g/mol; CAS number [13759-92-7]). It is soluble in water, and (when anhydrous) it is expected to be also highly soluble in ethanol (by analogy with SmCl3). It is nine-coordinate (trigonal prismatic), and it crystallises with the UCl3 structure.[1]

[edit] Preparation of anhydrous EuCl3

Simple rapid heating of the hydrate alone may cause small amounts of hydrolysis. Anhydrous EuCl3 can be made from the hydrate by heating with an excess of thionyl chloride for around 15 hours.[2]

[edit] Uses

Europium(III) chloride can be used for the preparation of europium(II) chloride by reduction in a gold boat using hydrogen gas while heating slowly to 700 °C. The anhydrous chloride may also be used to prepare organometallic compounds of europium, such as bis(pentamethylcyclopentadienyl)europium(II) complexes.[3] Europium(III) chloride can be used as a starting point for the preparation of other europium salts.

[edit] Bibliography

  • Edelmann, F. T.; & Poremba, P. (1997). in: Synthetic Methods of Organometallic and Inorganic Chemistry (Herrmann, E. A., Ed.) Vol. 6. Stuttgart:Georg Thieme.
  • Weast, R. C. (Ed.) (1972). Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (53rd Edn.). Cleveland: Chemical Rubber Co.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Greenwood, N. N.; Earnshaw, A. (1997). Chemistry of the Elements, 2nd Edition, Oxford:Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 0-7506-3365-4. 
  2. ^ Freeman, J. H.; & Smith, M. L. (1958). J. Inorg. Nucl. Chem. 7: 224.
  3. ^ Tilley, T. D. et al. (1980). Inorg. Chem. 19: 2999. Evans, W. J.; Hughes, L. A.; & Hanusa, T. P. (1986). Organometallics 5: 1285.
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