Curium(III) chloride

Curium(III) chloride is the chemical compound with the formula CmCl₃.

Curium(III) chloride

Crystal structure
Identifiers
CAS Number	13537-20-7
3D model (JSmol)	Interactive image
PubChem CID	57418588
InChI InChI=1S/3ClH.Cm/h3*1H;/q;;;+3/p-3 Key: PTLGMSBPLOHNBD-UHFFFAOYSA-K
SMILES Cl[Cm](Cl)Cl
Properties
Chemical formula	Cl3Cm
Molar mass	353 g·mol−1
Appearance	White solid (anhydrous) Light green solid (hydrate)
Melting point	695 °C (1,283 °F; 968 K)[citation needed]
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa). Infobox references

Structure

Curium(III) chloride has a 9 coordinate tricapped trigonal prismatic geometry.^[1]

Synthesis

Curium(III) chloride can be obtained from the reaction of hydrogen chloride gas with curium dioxide, curium(III) oxide, or curium(III) oxychloride at a temperature of 400-600 °C:

CmOCl + 2HCl → CmCl₃ + H₂O

It can also be obtained from the dissolution of metallic curium in dilute hydrochloric acid:^[2]

2Cm + 6HCl → 2CmCl₃ + 3H₂ in H₂O

This method is complicated by the ongoing processes of hydrolysis and hydration of the resulting compound in an aqueous solution, making it problematic to obtain a pure product.

It can be obtained from the reaction of curium nitride with cadmium chloride:^[3]

2 CmN + 3 CdCl₂ → 2 CmCl₃ + Cd₃N₂