Thulium(III) chloride explained

Thulium(III) chloride or thulium trichloride is as an inorganic salt composed of thulium and chlorine with the formula TmCl₃. It forms yellow crystals. Thulium(III) chloride has the YCl₃ (AlCl₃) layer structure with octahedral thulium ions.^[1] It has been used as a starting material for some exotic nanostructures prepared for NIR photocatalysis.^[2]

Preparation

Thulium(III) chloride can be obtained by reacting thulium(III) oxide or thulium(III) carbonate and ammonium chloride:^[3]

The hexahydrate of thulium(III) chloride can be obtained by adding thulium(III) oxide to concentrated hydrochloric acid.^[4]

Thulium(III) chloride can also be obtained by directly reacting thulium and chlorine:^[5]

Properties

Thulium(III) chloride is a light yellow powder. Its hexahydrate is a light green hygroscopic solid. Both are soluble in water. Thulium(III) chloride has a monoclinic crystal structure with the space group C2/m (No. 12) corresponding to that of aluminum(III) chloride.^[6]

Thulium(III) chloride reacts with strong bases to make thulium(III) oxide.

Notes and References

1. Wells A.F. (1984) Structural Inorganic Chemistry 5th edition Oxford Science Publications
2. Bai . Lijie . Jiang . Wenya . Gao . Chunxiao . Zhong . Shuxian . Zhao . Leihong . Li . Zhengquan . Bai . Song . 2016-11-17 . Facet engineered interface design of NaYF4:Yb,Tm upconversion nanocrystals on BiOCl nanoplates for enhanced near-infrared photocatalysis . Nanoscale . en . 8 . 45 . 19014–19024 . 10.1039/C6NR05720A . 27808315 . 2040-3372.
3. Book: Handbuch der präparativen anorganischen Chemie. 2 . 1978 . Enke . 978-3-432-87813-3 . 3., umgearb. Aufl . Stuttgart.
4. Web site: Spencer . James F. . 1919. The Metals of the Rare Earths . New York. Longmans, Green, and Co . 152. 2008-06-27 .
5. Webelements: Thulium
6. Book: Ans . Jean d' . Taschenbuch für Chemiker und Physiker . Lax . Ellen . 1998 . Springer . 978-3-540-60035-0 . de.