Europium(III) chloride

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

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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.
• Weast, R. C. (Ed.) (1972). Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (53rd Edn.). Cleveland: Chemical Rubber Co.

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.