Plutonium(III) iodide

Plutonium(III) iodide is the iodide of plutonium with the chemical formula PuI₃.

Preparation

Plutonium(III) iodide can be formed by the reaction of plutonium and mercury(II) iodide:

2 Pu 3 HgI₂ → 2 PuI₃ 3 Hg

It can also be produced by reacting plutonium and hydrogen iodide at 450 °C. Even if there is only a small amount of oxygen and water in the reaction, the generated plutonium(III) iodide will immediately hydrolyze into plutonium iodide oxide.

2 Pu 6 HI → 2 PuI₃ 3 H₂

Properties

Plutonium(III) iodide is a green solid with a melting point of 777 °C. It is orthorhombic (plutonium(III) bromide structure), space group Ccmm (No. 63), lattice parameters a = 433 pm, b = 1395 pm and c = 996 pm.

References

External reading

• Clark, David L.; Hecker, Siegfried S.; Jarvinen, Gordon D.; Neu, Mary P. (2006), Morss, Lester R.; Edelstein, Norman M.; Fuger, Jean (eds.), "Plutonium", The Chemistry of the Actinide and Transactinide Elements, Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, pp. 813–1264, doi:10.1007/1-4020-3598-5_7, ISBN 978-1-4020-3555-5, retrieved 2023-09-15