Holmium(III) chloride
Chemical compound
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Holmium(III) chloride is the inorganic compound with the formula HoCl3. It is a common salt but is mainly used in research. It can be used to produce pure holmium.[2] It exhibits the same color-changing behavior seen in holmium oxide, being a yellow in natural lighting and a bright pink color in fluorescent lighting.
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Hexahydrate | |
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| Names | |
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| Other names
Holmium trichloride Holmiumchlorid | |
| Identifiers | |
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3D model (JSmol) |
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| ChemSpider | |
| ECHA InfoCard | 100.030.339 |
| EC Number |
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PubChem CID |
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| UNII | |
CompTox Dashboard (EPA) |
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| Properties | |
| HoCl3 | |
| Molar mass | 271.289 g/mol |
| Appearance | yellow crystals hygroscopic |
| Density | 3.7 g/cm3 |
| Melting point | 720 °C (1,328 °F; 993 K)[1] |
| Boiling point | 1,500 °C (2,730 °F; 1,770 K) (decomposes) |
| dissolves | |
| Structure | |
| Monoclinic, mS16 | |
| C12/m1, No. 12 | |
| Related compounds | |
Other anions |
Holmium(III) oxide |
Other cations |
Dysprosium(III) chloride, Erbium(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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Preparation
The most commonly used method to obtain holmium(III) chloride involves heating a mixture of holmium(III) oxide and ammonium chloride at 200-250 °C:[3]
- Ho2O3 + 6 NH4Cl → 2 HoCl3 + 6 NH3 + 2 H2O
The hexahydrate of holmium(III) chloride can be obtained by reaction between holmium and hydrochloric acid:[3]
- 2 Ho + 6 HCl → 2 HoCl3 + 3 H2
It can also be prepared by the direct reaction between holmium and chlorine:[4]
- 2 Ho + 3 Cl2 → 2 HoCl3
Properties
Holmium(III) chloride and its hexahydrate are light yellow solids in daylight that are soluble in water. The hexahydrate starts to release water of crystallization at 64 °C.[5] Holmium(III) chloride has a monoclinic crystal structure analogous to that of aluminum(III) chloride.[3] In the solid state it has the YCl3 layer structure.[6]