Californium(II) iodide

Californium(II) iodide is a binary inorganic compound of californium and iodine with the formula CfI
₂.^[1]

Californium(II) iodide

Names
Other names Californium diiodide
Identifiers
CAS Number	49774-08-5
3D model (JSmol)	Interactive image
InChI InChI=1S/Cf.2HI/h;2*1H/q+2;;/p-2 Key: VNDYPDFEICMTGA-UHFFFAOYSA-L
SMILES [Cf+2].[I-].[I-]
Properties
Chemical formula	CfI2
Molar mass	505 g·mol−1
Appearance	dark purple solid
Density	g/cm3
Solubility in water	insoluble
Structure
Crystal structure	cubic
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa). Infobox references

Synthesis

It can be produced by reducing californium triiodide with hydrogen in a quartz thin tube at 570 °C:^[2]

2CfI₃ + H₂ → 2CfI₂ + 2HI

Physical properties

The compound forms a dark purple solid. At slightly higher temperatures, it melts and reacts with the silica in the thin tube, producing CfOI.^{[citation needed]}

Californium diiodide has two crystal structures, one is CdCl
₂-type crystal structure, stable at room temperature, with lattice parameters a = 743.4 ± 1.1 pm and α = 35.83 ± 0.07°; the other is metastable, of CdI
₂-type with lattice parameters a = 455.7 ± 0.4 pm and c = 699.2 ± 0.6 pm.^[3] Californium diiodide has an absorption band in the wavelength range from 300 to 1100 nm, which proves the existence of Cf(II).^[4]