Erbium(III) chloride

Erbium(III) chloride, is a violet solid with the formula ErCl3. It is used in the preparation of erbium metal.

Erbium(III) chloride
Names
IUPAC name
Erbium(III) chloride
Other names
Erbium trichloride
Identifiers
3D model (JSmol)
ChemSpider
ECHA InfoCard 100.030.337
UNII
Properties
ErCl3 (anhydrous)
ErCl3·6H2O (hexahydrate)
Molar mass 273.62 g/mol (anhydrous)
381.71 g/mol (hexahydrate)
Appearance violet hygroscopic monoclinic crystals (anhydrous)
pink hygroscopic crystals (hexahydrate)
Density 4.1 g/cm3 (anhydrous)
Melting point 776 °C (1,429 °F; 1,049 K) (anhydrous)
decomposes (hexahydrate)
Boiling point 1,500 °C (2,730 °F; 1,770 K)
soluble in water (anhydrous)
slightly soluble in ethanol (hexahydrate)[1]
Structure[2]
monoclinic
C2/m, No. 12
a = 6.80 Å, b = 11.79 Å, c = 6.39 Å
α = 90°, β = 110.7°, γ = 90°
479 Å3
4
Related compounds
Other anions
Erbium(III) oxide
Other cations
Holmium(III) chloride, Thulium(III) chloride
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
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Infobox references

Properties

Erbium(III) chloride hydrate photographed under a fluorescent lamp

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 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 MOH → Er(OH)3 + 3 MCl

Structural data

Erbium chloride forms crystals of the AlCl3 type, with monoclinic crystals and the point group C2/m.[2]

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.[3]

Optical properties

Erbium(III) chloride solutions show a negative nonlinear absorption effect.[4]

Catalytic properties

The use of erbium(III) chloride as a catalyst has been demonstrated in the acylation of alcohols and phenols [5] and in an amine functionalisation of furfural.[6] It is a catalyst for Friedel–Crafts-type reactions, and can be used in place of cerium(III) chloride for Luche reductions.[7]

References

  1. Lide, David R. (1998). Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (87 ed.). Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press. pp. 4–57. ISBN 0-8493-0594-2.
  2. Tempelton DH, Carter GF (1954). "The Crystal Structure of Yttrium Trichloride and Similar Compounds". J Phys Chem. 58 (11): 940–943. doi:10.1021/j150521a002.
  3. Graebner EJ, Conrad GH, Duliere SF (1966). "Crystallographic data for solvated rare earth chlorides". Acta Crystallographica. 21 (6): 1012–1013. doi:10.1107/S0365110X66004420.
  4. Maeda Y, Akidzuki Y, Yamada T (1998). "All-optical liquid device derived from negative nonlinear absorption effect in an erbium chloride solution". Applied Physics Letters. 73 (17): 2411–2413. doi:10.1063/1.122450.
  5. Dalpozzo Renato, De Nino Antonio, Maiuolo Loredana, Oliverio Manuela, Procopio Antonio, Russo Beatrice, Tocci Amedeo (2007) Erbium(iii) Chloride: a Very Active Acylation Catalyst. Australian Journal of Chemistry 60, 75-79. doi:10.1071/CH06346
  6. Synthesis of trans-4,5-Bis-dibenzylaminocyclopent-2-enone from Furfural Catalyzed by ErCl3·6H2O Mónica S. Estevão, Ricardo J. V. Martins, and Carlos A. M. Afonso Journal of Chemical Education 2017 94 (10), 1587-1589 {DOI|10.1021/acs.jchemed.6b00470}
  7. Luche, Jean-Louis (2001-04-15), "Erbium(III) Chloride", in John Wiley & Sons, Ltd (ed.), Encyclopedia of Reagents for Organic Synthesis, Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, pp. re006, doi:10.1002/047084289x.re006, ISBN 978-0-471-93623-7
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