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Erbium(III) chloride
Encyclopedia
Erbium chloride, the erbium
(III) salt of hydrochloric acid
, is a violet solid used for the preparation of erbium
metal.
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It is also found as a pink crystalline hexahydrate
, CAS number [10025-75-9]. It has the interesting property that the pink colour is much more intense under the light from a fluorescent lamp
, as may be seen from the picture.
Anhydrous erbium(III) chloride is formed from the hexahydrate by heating under a strongly chlorinating atmosphere, such as chlorine
or hydrogen chloride
; otherwise erbium oxide chloride, ErOCl, is formed. An alternative preparation is to react the readily available Er2O3 with excess NH4Cl
to make the intermediate salt (NH4)3ErCl6 plus both ammonia and water. This salt is stable with respect to hydrolysis and can be thermally decomposed under vacuum to yield anhydrous erbium(III) chloride with loss of ammonia and gaseous HCl.
It reacts with alkalis to form erbium(III) hydroxide:
ErCl3 + 3 XOH → Er(OH)3 + 3 XCl
type, with monoclinic crystals and the point group
C2/m.
Erbium(III) chloride hexahydrate also forms monoclinic crystals with the point group of P2/n (P2/c) - C42h. The erbium is octa-coordinated to form [Er(H2O)6Cl2]+ ions with the isolated Cl− completing the structure.
for the acylation
of alcohols and phenols, and can be easily recycled and reused without significant loss of activity.
Erbium
Erbium is a chemical element in the lanthanide series, with the symbol Er and atomic number 68. A silvery-white solid metal when artificially isolated, natural erbium is always found in chemical combination with other elements on Earth...
(III) salt of hydrochloric acid
Hydrochloric acid
Hydrochloric acid is a solution of hydrogen chloride in water, that is a highly corrosive, strong mineral acid with many industrial uses. It is found naturally in gastric acid....
, is a violet solid used for the preparation of erbium
Erbium
Erbium is a chemical element in the lanthanide series, with the symbol Er and atomic number 68. A silvery-white solid metal when artificially isolated, natural erbium is always found in chemical combination with other elements on Earth...
metal.
Properties
Hydrate
Hydrate is a term used in inorganic chemistry and organic chemistry to indicate that a substance contains water. The chemical state of the water varies widely between hydrates, some of which were so labeled before their chemical structure was understood....
, CAS number [10025-75-9]. It has the interesting property that the pink colour is much more intense under the light from a fluorescent lamp
Fluorescent lamp
A fluorescent lamp or fluorescent tube is a gas-discharge lamp that uses electricity to excite mercury vapor. The excited mercury atoms produce short-wave ultraviolet light that then causes a phosphor to fluoresce, producing visible light. A fluorescent lamp converts electrical power into useful...
, as may be seen from the picture.
Anhydrous erbium(III) chloride is formed from the hexahydrate by heating under a strongly chlorinating atmosphere, such as chlorine
Chlorine
Chlorine is the chemical element with atomic number 17 and symbol Cl. It is the second lightest halogen, found in the periodic table in group 17. The element forms diatomic molecules under standard conditions, called dichlorine...
or hydrogen chloride
Hydrogen chloride
The compound hydrogen chloride has the formula HCl. At room temperature, it is a colorless gas, which forms white fumes of hydrochloric acid upon contact with atmospheric humidity. Hydrogen chloride gas and hydrochloric acid are important in technology and industry...
; otherwise erbium oxide chloride, ErOCl, is formed. An alternative preparation is to react the readily available Er2O3 with excess NH4Cl
Ammonium chloride
Ammonium chloride NH4Cl is an inorganic compound with the formula NH4Cl. It is a white crystalline salt that is highly soluble in water. Solutions of ammonium chloride are mildly acidic. Sal ammoniac is a name of natural, mineralogical form of ammonium chloride...
to make the intermediate salt (NH4)3ErCl6 plus both ammonia and water. This salt is stable with respect to hydrolysis and can be thermally decomposed under vacuum to yield anhydrous erbium(III) chloride with loss of ammonia and gaseous HCl.
It reacts with alkalis to form erbium(III) hydroxide:
ErCl3 + 3 XOH → Er(OH)3 + 3 XCl
Structural data
Erbium chloride forms crystals of the AlCl3Aluminium chloride
Aluminium chloride is the main compound of aluminium and chlorine. It is white, but samples are often contaminated with iron trichloride, giving it a yellow colour. The solid has a low melting and boiling point. It is mainly produced and consumed in the production of aluminium metal, but large...
type, with monoclinic crystals and the point group
Point group
In geometry, a point group is a group of geometric symmetries that keep at least one point fixed. Point groups can exist in a Euclidean space with any dimension, and every point group in dimension d is a subgroup of the orthogonal group O...
C2/m.
Erbium(III) chloride hexahydrate also forms monoclinic crystals with the point group of P2/n (P2/c) - C42h. The erbium is octa-coordinated to form [Er(H2O)6Cl2]+ ions with the isolated Cl− completing the structure.
Optical properties
Erbium(III) chloride solutions show a negative nonlinear absorption effect.Catalytic properties
Erbium(III) chloride is a powerful catalystCatalysis
Catalysis is the change in rate of a chemical reaction due to the participation of a substance called a catalyst. Unlike other reagents that participate in the chemical reaction, a catalyst is not consumed by the reaction itself. A catalyst may participate in multiple chemical transformations....
for the acylation
Acylation
In chemistry, acylation is the process of adding an acyl group to a compound. The compound providing the acyl group is called the acylating agent....
of alcohols and phenols, and can be easily recycled and reused without significant loss of activity.