Erbium(III) chloride

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Erbium(III) chloride
IUPAC name	Erbium(III) chloride
Other names	Erbium trichloride
Identifiers
CAS number	[10138-41-7]
Properties
Molecular formula	ErCl3
Molar mass	273.62 g/mol
Appearance	pink crystalline solid
Density	4.1 g/cm3, solid
Melting point	776 °C (? K)
Boiling point	1500 °C
Except where noted otherwise, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C, 100 kPa) Infobox disclaimer and references

Erbium(III) chloride is a violet solid used for the preparation of erbium metal.

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.

Contents 1 Structural data 2 Optical properties 3 Catalytic properties 4 References

[edit] Structural data

Erbium chloride forms crystals of the AlCl₃ type, with monoclinic crystals and the point group C2/m.^[1]

Erbium(III) chloride hexahydrate also forms monoclinic crystals with the point group of P2/n (P2/c) - C⁴_2h. The erbium is octa-coordinated to form [Er(H₂O)₆Cl₂]⁺ ions with the isolated Cl⁻ completing the structure.^[2]

[edit] Optical properties

Erbium(III) chloride solutions show a negative nonlinear absorption effect.^[3]

[edit] Catalytic properties

Erbium(III) chloride is a powerful catalyst for the acylation of alcohols and phenols, and can be easily recycled and reused without significant loss of activity. ^[4]

[edit] References

The references in this article would be clearer with a different or consistent style of citation, footnoting, or external linking.

1. ^ Tempelton DH, Carter GF (1954). "The Crystal Structure of Yttrium Trichloride and Similar Compounds". J Phys Chem: 940–943. doi:10.1021/j150521a002. 
2. ^ Graebner EJ, Conrad GH Duliere SF (1966). "Crystallographic data for solvated rare earth chlorides" 21: 1021. 
3. ^ 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: 2411–2413. doi:10.1063/1.122450. 
4. ^ CSIRO PUBLISHING - Australian Journal of Chemistry