Neodymium(II) chloride explained

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

Preparation

Neodymium(II) chloride can be prepared by reducing neodymium(III) chloride with lithium metal/naphthalene or lithium chloride in THF.^[1]

Reduction of neodymium(III) chloride with neodymium metal at temperatures above 650 °C also yields neodymium(II) chloride:^[2]

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.^{[3] [4]}

Notes and References

1. Rossmainth. K.. 1979-07-01. Herstellung von Neodym(II)-chlorid in Lösung. Preparation of neodymium(II) chloride in solution. Monatshefte für Chemie - Chemical Monthly . 110. 4. 1019–1023. 10.1007/BF00906697. 99130833.
2. Book: Synthesis of lanthanide and actinide compounds. 161. Gerd Meyer, Lester R. Morss. Springer. 1991. 0-7923-1018-7.
3. Zweiwertiges Neodym: NdCl₂ und KNd₂Cl₅ . Gerd . Meyer . Thomas . Schleid . . 1985 . 528 . 9 . 55–60 . 10.1002/zaac.19855280906 .
4. Web site: ICSD Entry: 48206 . . Cambridge Structural Database

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