Neodymium(II) chloride

Neodymium(II) chloride or neodymium dichloride is a chemical compound of neodymium and chlorine with the formula NdCl₂.

Neodymium(II) chloride

Names
Other names Neodymium dichloride
Identifiers
3D model (JSmol)	Interactive image
ChemSpider	64878486
PubChem CID	57376283
CompTox Dashboard (EPA)	DTXSID701336875
InChI InChI=1S/2ClH.Nd/h2*1H;/p-2 Key: YATFJWWYFCCTHZ-UHFFFAOYSA-L
SMILES [Cl-].[Cl-].[Nd+2]
Properties
Chemical formula	NdCl2
Molar mass	215.14 g/mol
Appearance	Black solid[1]
Structure
Crystal structure	Orthorhombic
Space group	Pnma, No. 62
Related compounds
Other anions	Neodymium(II) bromide Neodymium(II) iodide
Other cations	SmCl2, EuCl2, DyCl2, TmCl2, YbCl2,
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa). Infobox references

Crystal structure of the mineral cotunnite (lead(II) chloride, PbCl2; orthorhombic, Pnam) with one Pb coordination polyhedron showing the ninefold chlorine coordination sphere.

Preparation

Neodymium(II) chloride can be prepared by reducing neodymium(III) chloride with lithium metal/naphthalene or lithium chloride in THF.^[2]

Reduction of neodymium(III) chloride with neodymium metal at temperatures above 650 °C also yields neodymium(II) chloride:^[3]

2 NdCl₃ + Nd → 3 NdCl₂

Structure

Neodymium(II) chloride adopts the PbCl₂ (cotunnite) structure. Each Nd²⁺ ion is coordinated by nine Cl⁻ ions in a tricapped trigonal prismatic arrangement. Seven of the Nd-Cl distances are in the range 2.95-3.14 Å while two are longer at 3.45 Å.^[4][5]