Plutonium (III) chloride

Crystal structure
__  Pu 3+      __  Cl -
Crystal system	hexagonal
Space group	P 6 3 / m (No. 176)
Lattice parameters	a = 739.4 pm c = 424.3 pm
Coordination numbers	Pu [9], Cl [3]
General
Surname	Plutonium (III) chloride
other names	Plutonium trichloride
Ratio formula	PuCl 3
Brief description	green solid
External identifiers / databases
CAS number 13569-62-5 PubChem 19902959 Wikidata Q421272
properties
Molar mass	350.32 g mol −1
Physical state	firmly
density	5.70 g cm −3
Melting point	767 ° C
boiling point	1727 ° C
Hazard and safety information
Radioactive
GHS hazard labeling no classification available
Thermodynamic properties
ΔH f 0	−229.8 ± 0.8 kcal mol −1
As far as possible and customary, SI units are used. Unless otherwise noted, the data given apply to standard conditions .

Plutonium (III) chloride is a chemical compound made up of the elements plutonium and chlorine . It has the formula PuCl ₃ and belongs to the class of chlorides .

presentation

Plutonium (III) chloride can be obtained by reacting plutonium and chlorine in a vacuum or in a carbon tetrachloride - argon atmosphere.

${\displaystyle {\ce {2 Pu + 3 Cl2 -> 2 PuCl3}}}$

Production from plutonium (IV) oxide with carbon tetrachloride is also possible.

${\displaystyle {\ce {2 PuO2 + 4 CCl4 -> 2 PuCl3 + 4 COCl2 + Cl2}}}$

Other production methods are the chlorination of a plutonium (IV) hydroxide with hydrogen chloride or the conversion of plutonium with hydrogen to plutonium hydride and its subsequent chlorination with hydrogen chloride or the reaction of plutonium (III) oxalate decahydrate with hexachloropropene .

properties

Plutonium (III) chloride forms green crystals with a melting point of 767 ° C. It is soluble in water and in dilute acids with a blue color. It crystallizes in the hexagonal crystal system in the space group  P 6 ₃ / m (No. 176) with the lattice parameters a  = 739  pm and c  = 424 pm and two formula units per unit cell . Its crystal structure is isotype with uranium (III) chloride . In the structure, the plutonium atoms are each surrounded by nine chlorine atoms, resulting in a three-way, trigonal prism as a coordination polyhedron .

Plutonium (III) chloride forms a mono-, tri- and hexahydrate with water.

safety instructions

Classifications according to the CLP regulation are not available, although the chemical toxicity is known. The dangers based on radioactivity are important , provided that the amount of substance involved is relevant.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Gmelin's Handbook of Inorganic Chemistry , System No. 71, Transurane, Part C, pp. 129–135.
2. ↑ The hazards emanating from radioactivity do not belong to the properties to be classified according to the GHS labeling. With regard to other hazards, this substance has either not yet been classified or a reliable and citable source has not yet been found.
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Georg Brauer (Ed.), With the collaboration of Marianne Baudler u. a .: Handbook of Preparative Inorganic Chemistry. 3rd, revised edition. Volume II, Ferdinand Enke, Stuttgart 1978, ISBN 3-432-87813-3 , p. 1301.
4. ↑ John H. Burns, JR Peterson, JN Stevenson: "Crystallographic Studies of some Transuranic Trihalides: ²³⁹ PuCl ₃ , ²⁴⁴ CmBr ₃ , ²⁴⁹ BkBr ₃ and ²⁴⁹ CfBr ₃ ", in: Journal of Inorganic and Nuclear Chemistry , 1975 , 37  ( 3), pp. 743-749 ( doi : 10.1016 / 0022-1902 (75) 80532-X ).

literature

• David L. Clark, Siegfried S. Hecker , Gordon D. Jarvinen, Mary P. Neu: Plutonium , in: Lester R. Morss, Norman M. Edelstein, Jean Fuger (Eds.): The Chemistry of the Actinide and Transactinide Elements , Springer, Dordrecht 2006; ISBN 1-4020-3555-1 , pp. 813-1264 ( doi : 10.1007 / 1-4020-3598-5_7 ).