Gadolinium(III) iodide is an iodide of gadolinium, with the

chemical formula In chemistry, a chemical formula is a way of presenting information about the chemical proportions of atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound or molecule, using chemical element symbols, numbers, and sometimes also other symbols, ...

of GdI₃. It is a yellow, highly

hygroscopic Hygroscopy is the phenomenon of attracting and holding water molecules via either absorption or adsorption from the surrounding environment, which is usually at normal or room temperature. If water molecules become suspended among the substance ...

solid with a

bismuth(III) iodide Bismuth(III) iodide is the inorganic compound with the formula Bi I3. This gray-black salt is the product of the reaction of bismuth and iodine, which once was of interest in qualitative inorganic analysis. Bismuth(III) iodide adopts a distinc ...

-type

crystal structure In crystallography, crystal structure is a description of the ordered arrangement of atoms, ions or molecules in a crystal, crystalline material. Ordered structures occur from the intrinsic nature of the constituent particles to form symmetric pat ...

. In air, it quickly absorbs moisture and forms

hydrate In chemistry, a hydrate is a substance that contains water or its constituent elements. The chemical state of the water varies widely between different classes of hydrates, some of which were so labeled before their chemical structure was understo ...

s. The corresponding oxide iodide is also readily formed at elevated temperature.

Preparation

Gadolinium(III) iodide can be obtained by reacting gadolinium with

iodine Iodine is a chemical element with the symbol I and atomic number 53. The heaviest of the stable halogens, it exists as a semi-lustrous, non-metallic solid at standard conditions that melts to form a deep violet liquid at , and boils to a vi ...

Georg Brauer Georg Karl Brauer (born 11. April 1908 in Bochum, died 26. February 2001 in Freiburg im Breisgau) was a German chemist. Life Brauer was the son of the chemist Eberhard Brauer and Elisabeth Brauer, a daughter of Wilhelm Ostwald. From 1926 to 1932 ...

(Hrsg.), unter Mitarbeit von

Marianne Baudler Marianne Baudler (27 April 1921 – 5 March 2003) was a German chemist. She is known for her research on phosphorus. Life Marianne Baudler was born in Stettin. She started studying Chemistry at the TH Dresden in April 1940 and finished her studi ...

u. a.: ''Handbuch der Präparativen Anorganischen Chemie.'' 3., umgearbeitete Auflage. Band I, Ferdinand Enke, Stuttgart 1975, ISBN 3-432-02328-6, S. 1077. :2 Gd + 3 I₂ → 2 GdI₃ It can also be obtained by reacting gadolinium with

mercury(II) iodide Mercury(II) iodide is a chemical compound with the molecular formula Hg I2. It is typically produced synthetically but can also be found in nature as the extremely rare mineral coccinite. Unlike the related mercury(II) chloride it is hardly solu ...

in a vacuum at 500 °C: :2 Gd + 3 HgI₂ → 2 GdI₃ + 3 Hg Gadolinium(III) iodide can be obtained by the reaction between

gadolinium(III) oxide Gadolinium(III) oxide (archaically gadolinia) is an inorganic compound with the formula Gd2O3. It is one of the most commonly available forms of the rare-earth element gadolinium, derivatives of which are potential contrast agents for magnetic res ...

and hydroiodic acid, crystallizing into the

form. The hydrate form can be heated with ammonium iodide to form the anhydrous form. : Gd₂O₃ + 6 HI → 2 GdI₃ + 3 H₂O

Reactions

Gadolinium(III) iodide reacts with gadolinium and

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

in an

argon Argon is a chemical element with the symbol Ar and atomic number 18. It is in group 18 of the periodic table and is a noble gas. Argon is the third-most abundant gas in Earth's atmosphere, at 0.934% (9340 ppmv). It is more than twice as abu ...

atmosphere heated to 850 °C to obtain Gd₇I₁₂Zn. It reacts with gadolinium,

carbon Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent In chemistry, the valence (US spelling) or valency (British spelling) of an element is the measure of its combining capacity with o ...

, and gadolinium nitride in a

tantalum Tantalum is a chemical element with the symbol Ta and atomic number 73. Previously known as ''tantalium'', it is named after Tantalus, a villain in Greek mythology. Tantalum is a very hard, ductile, lustrous, blue-gray transition metal that is ...

tube at 897 °C to obtain nitrocarbide Gd₄I₆CN.Mattausch, Hansjurgen; Borrmann, Horst; Eger, Roland; Kremer, R. K.; Simon, Arndt. Gd₄I₆CN: A carbide nitride with chains of Gd₆(C₂) octahedra and Gd₆N₂ double tetrahedra. ''Zeitschrift fuer Anorganische und Allgemeine Chemie'' (1994), 620 (11): 1889-1897.

References

External reading

*Asprey, L. B.; Keenan, T. K.; Kruse, F. H. Preparation and crystal data for lanthanide and actinide triiodides. ''Inorg. Chem.'', 1964. 3 (8): 1137-1240 {{Lanthanide halides Gadolinium compounds Iodides Lanthanide halides