Europium(III) chloride

{{Chembox new | Name = Europium(III) chloride | ImageFile = Europium(III)_chloride_hexahydrate.jpg | ImageName = Crystals of europium(III) chloride hexahydrate | OtherNames = Europium trichloride | Section1 = ! style="background: #F8EABA; text-align: center;" colspan="2" | Identifiers |-

| bgcolor = "" | CAS number | bgcolor = "" | [10025-76-0] (anhydr.) |-

| EINECS number | 233-040-4 |-

| RTECS number | LE7525000 |- | Section2 = {{Chembox Properties | Formula = EuCl₃ | MolarMass = 258.32 g/mol (anhydr.) | Solvent = other solvents | SolubleOther = Soluble | MeltingPt = 632 °C decomp.

| style="background: #F8EABA; text-align: center;" colspan="2" |Disclaimer and references |- |}

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

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 (M_r = 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]

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]

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.

Bibliography

• Edelmann, F. T.; & Poremba, P. (1997). in: Synthetic Methods of Organometallic and Inorganic Chemistry (Herrmann, E. A., Ed.) Vol. 6. Stuttgart:Georg Thieme.
• Template:RubberBible53rd

References

1. ^ 
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.