Neodymium(III) acetate is an

inorganic An inorganic compound is typically a chemical compound that lacks carbon–hydrogen bonds⁠that is, a compound that is not an organic compound. The study of inorganic compounds is a subfield of chemistry known as '' inorganic chemistry''. Inor ...

salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

composed of a

neodymium Neodymium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Nd and atomic number 60. It is the fourth member of the lanthanide series and is considered to be one of the rare-earth element, rare-earth metals. It is a hard (physics), hard, sli ...

atom tri

cation An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...

and three

acetate An acetate is a salt formed by the combination of acetic acid with a base (e.g. alkaline, earthy, metallic, nonmetallic, or radical base). "Acetate" also describes the conjugate base or ion (specifically, the negatively charged ion called ...

groups as

anion An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conven ...

s where neodymium exhibits the +3

oxidation state In chemistry, the oxidation state, or oxidation number, is the hypothetical Electrical charge, charge of an atom if all of its Chemical bond, bonds to other atoms are fully Ionic bond, ionic. It describes the degree of oxidation (loss of electrons ...

. It has a

chemical formula 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, such as pare ...

of Nd(CH₃COO)₃ although it can be informally referred to as NdAc because Ac is an informal symbol for acetate. It commonly occurs as a light purple powder.National Center for Biotechnology Information (2022). PubChem Compound Summary for CID 3563803, Neodymium acetate. Retrieved April 10, 2022 from https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Neodymium-acetate

Physical properties

Neodymium(III) acetate as a

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 ...

is a purple solid that is

soluble In chemistry, solubility is the ability of a substance, the solute, to form a solution with another substance, the solvent. Insolubility is the opposite property, the inability of the solute to form such a solution. The extent of the solubi ...

water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

. The solubility of the compound increases when sodium acetate is added, forming a blue complex. It forms

crystal A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macros ...

line

s in the composition of Nd(CH₃COO)₃·''n''H₂O, where n = 1 and 4 are red-violet crystals that lose water at 110 °C. The crystalline hydrate with the composition of Nd(CH₃COO)₃·4H₂O forms crystals of

triclinic crystal system class=skin-invert-image, 180px, Triclinic (a ≠ b ≠ c ≠ a and α, β, γ, 90° pairwise different) In crystallography, the triclinic (or anorthic) crystal system is one of the seven crystal systems. A crystal system is described by three b ...

, with the

space group In mathematics, physics and chemistry, a space group is the symmetry group of a repeating pattern in space, usually in three dimensions. The elements of a space group (its symmetry operations) are the rigid transformations of the pattern that ...

of ''P 1'' and the cell parameters of a = 0.9425 nm, b = 0.9932 nm, c = 1.065 nm, α = 88.09°, β = 115 .06°, γ = 123.69°. Most of the Nd³⁺

s are coordinated by nine (or eight) oxygen atoms of the acetate

ligands In coordination chemistry, a ligand is an ion or molecule with a functional group that binds to a central metal atom to form a coordination complex. The bonding with the metal generally involves formal donation of one or more of the ligand's ...

, which connect these polyhedra into slightly puckered sheets that are stacked in the 10direction. The crystalline

source is moderately

in water,

methyl salicylate Methyl salicylate (oil of wintergreen or wintergreen oil) is an organic compound with the formula C8H8O3. It is the methyl ester of salicylic acid. It is a colorless, viscous liquid with a sweet, fruity odor reminiscent of root beer (in which it ...

,Salutsky V.L. The rare earth elements and their compounds: the purification and properties of praseodymium oxide. - A thesis of dissertation. - 1950 pp. 5

benzyl chloride Benzyl chloride, or α-chlorotoluene, is an organic compound with the formula . This colorless liquid is a reactive organochlorine compound that is a widely used chemical building block. Preparation Benzyl chloride is prepared industrially ...

benzyl alcohol Benzyl alcohol (also known as α-cresol) is an aromatic alcohol with the formula C6H5CH2OH. The benzyl group is often abbreviated "Bn" (not to be confused with "Bz" which is used for benzoyl), thus benzyl alcohol is denoted as BnOH. Benzyl a ...

and

carbon disulfide Carbon disulfide (also spelled as carbon disulphide) is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula and structure . It is also considered as the anhydride of thiocarbonic acid. It is a colorless, flammable, neurotoxic liquid that is used as ...

. In the temperature range of 320–430 °C, the anhydrate decomposes to form Nd₂O₂(CO₃), which decomposes via a further intermediate stage at 880 °C to neodymium oxide.

Appearance

Neodymium(III) acetate is a mauve-colored

hygroscopic Hygroscopy is the phenomenon of attracting and holding water molecules via either absorption (chemistry), absorption or adsorption from the surrounding Natural environment, environment, which is usually at normal or room temperature. If water mol ...

powdery solid. The resulting hydrate, like many other neodymium

s, has the interesting property that it appears different colors under fluorescent light.

Preparation

Neodymium(III) acetate can be formed using neutralisation (

acetic acid Acetic acid , systematically named ethanoic acid , is an acidic, colourless liquid and organic compound with the chemical formula (also written as , , or ). Vinegar is at least 4% acetic acid by volume, making acetic acid the main compone ...

reacts with neodymium oxide, neodymium hydroxide or

neodymium carbonate Neodymium(III) carbonate is an inorganic compound, a salt, where neodymium is in the +3 oxidation state and the carbonate ion has charge −2.See https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Neodymium_III_-carbonate-hydrate It has a chemical formula o ...

):Zofia Rzaczynska. Studies on the heterogenic reaction of acetic acid vapors with mixtures of yttrium and neodymium oxides. ''Zeszyty Naukowe Politechniki Slaskiej, Chemia'', 1985. 113: 91-97. . :6CH₃COOH + Nd₂O₃ → 2Nd(CH₃COO)₃ + 3H₂O :3CH₃COOH + Nd(OH)₃ → Nd(CH₃COO)₃ + 3H₂O :6CH₃COOH + Nd₂(CO₃)₃ → 2Nd(CH₃COO)₃ + 3H₂O + 3CO₂↑ It can also be formed in a reaction with a

neodymium magnet A nickel-plated neodymium magnet on a bracket from a hard disk drive file:Nd-magnet.jpg">Nickel-plated neodymium magnet cubes Left: high-resolution transmission electron microscopy image of Nd2Fe14B; right: crystal structure with unit cell mar ...

and acetic acid: :20CH₃COOH + Nd₂Fe₁₄B → 2Nd(CH₃COO)₃ + 7Fe(CH₃COO)₂ + 10H₂ + B The reaction of neodymium(III) chloride and

sodium acetate Sodium acetate, CH3COONa, also abbreviated Sodium, NaOxygen, OAcetyl, Ac, is the sodium Salt (chemistry), salt of acetic acid. This salt is colorless, deliquescent, and hygroscopy, hygroscopic. Applications Biotechnological Sodium acetate is u ...

can also produce neodymium(III) acetate:Mehrotra, R. C.; Misra, T. N.; Misra, S. N. Organic compounds of lanthanide elements: preparation of carboxylic acid salts of praseodymium and neodymium. ''Journal of the Indian Chemical Society'', 1966. 1: 61-62. :NdCl₃ + 3Na(CH₃COO) → Nd(CH₃COO)₃ + 3NaCl It can also be formed by reacting any neodymium salt with acetic acid. Anhydrous neodymium(III) acetate can be obtained by direct oxidation of neodymium with

malonic acid Malonic acid is a dicarboxylic acid with structure CH2(COOH)2. The ionized form of malonic acid, as well as its esters and salts, are known as malonates. For example, diethyl malonate is malonic acid's diethyl ester. The name originates from ...

in a glass

ampoule An ampoule (also ampul and ampule) is a small sealed vial which is used to contain and preserve a sample, usually a solid or liquid. Ampoules are usually made of glass. Modern ampoules are most commonly used to contain pharmaceuticals and chem ...

at 180 °C. It is also possible to prepare the hydrate by dissolving neodymium(III) oxide in glacial acetic acid, alkalinizing it to a pH value of 4 with

sodium hydroxide Sodium hydroxide, also known as lye and caustic soda, is an inorganic compound with the formula . It is a white solid ionic compound consisting of sodium cations and hydroxide anions . Sodium hydroxide is a highly corrosive base (chemistry), ...

, and then slowly evaporating the solution. With different pH values, different hydrates can be obtained.

Uses

Neodymium(III) acetate can be used for: * Making ultra high purity compounds * Making

catalysts Catalysis () is the increase in reaction rate, rate of a chemical reaction due to an added substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed by the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst ...

* Making nanoscale materials * A substitute for

uranyl acetate Uranyl acetate is the acetate salt of uranium oxide, a toxic yellow-green powder useful in certain laboratory tests. Structurally, it is a coordination polymer with formula UO2(CH3CO2)2(H2O)·H2O. Structure left, 260px, Structure (from X-ray ...

electron microscopy An electron microscope is a microscope that uses a beam of electrons as a source of illumination. It uses electron optics that are analogous to the glass lenses of an optical light microscope to control the electron beam, for instance focusing i ...

Text was copied from this source, which is available under
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
* Preparing

nanoparticle A nanoparticle or ultrafine particle is a particle of matter 1 to 100 nanometres (nm) in diameter. The term is sometimes used for larger particles, up to 500 nm, or fibers and tubes that are less than 100 nm in only two directions. At ...

s of neodymium(III) oxide. It might also be used as: * a

skin Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation. Other animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have different ...

-conditionerSee https://comptox.epa.gov/dashboard/chemical/chemical-functional-use/DTXSID10890616 * an

antimicrobial An antimicrobial is an agent that kills microorganisms (microbicide) or stops their growth (bacteriostatic agent). Antimicrobial medicines can be grouped according to the microorganisms they are used to treat. For example, antibiotics are used aga ...

* a

colorant A colourant/colour additive (British spelling) or colorant/color additive (American spelling) is a substance that is added or applied in order to change the colour of a material or surface. Colourants can be used for many purposes including printin ...

Substitute for uranyl acetate

Uranyl acetate has been the standard contrasting agent in transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for decades.Watson ML (1958) Staining of tissue sections for electron microscopy with heavy metals. II. Application of solutions containing

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

and

barium Barium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ba and atomic number 56. It is the fifth element in group 2 and is a soft, silvery alkaline earth metal. Because of its high chemical reactivity, barium is never found in nature as a free element. Th ...

. J Biophys Biochem Cytol 4:727–730 Watson ML (1958) Staining of tissue sections for electron microscopy with heavy metals. J Cell Biol 4:475–478 However, its use is increasingly hampered by

regulations Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. Fo ...

by governments due to its

radioactive Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is conside ...

properties as well as its high

toxicity Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacteria, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect o ...

. Therefore, alternatives are being searched for, including

lanthanides The lanthanide () or lanthanoid () series of chemical elements comprises at least the 14 Metal, metallic chemical elements with atomic numbers 57–70, from lanthanum through ytterbium. In the periodic table, they fill the 4f orbitals. Lutetium ...

platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

blueHosogi N, Nishioka H, Nakakoshi M (2015) Evaluation of lanthanide salts as alternative stains to uranyl acetate. Microscopy (Oxf) 64:429–435 Inaga S, Katsumoto T, Tanaka K, Kameie T, Nakane H, Naguro T (2007) Platinum blue as an alternative to uranyl acetate for staining in transmission electron microscopy. Arch Histol Cytol 70:43–49 Yamaguchi K, Suzuki K, Tanaka K (2010) Examination of electron stains as a substitute for uranyl acetate for the ultrathin sections of bacterial cells. J Electron Microsc (Tokyo) 59:113–118 as well as the use of less defined substances such as

oolong Oolong or Wulong (, ; ; , "black dragon" tea) is a traditional semi-oxidized Chinese tea (''Camellia sinensis)'' produced through a process that includes withering the leaves under strong sun and allowing some Enzymatic oxidation, oxidation to ...

tea extract.Sato S, Adachi A, Sasaki Y, Ghazizadeh M (2008) Oolong tea extract as a substitute for uranyl acetate in staining of ultrathin sections. J Microsc 229:17–20 He X, Liu B (2017) Oolong tea extract as a substitute for uranyl acetate in staining of ultrathin sections based on examples of animal tissues for transmission electron microscopy. J Microsc 267:27–33 Despite these published alternatives, uranyl acetate is still the standard for EM contrasting. In the

periodic table The periodic table, also known as the periodic table of the elements, is an ordered arrangement of the chemical elements into rows (" periods") and columns (" groups"). It is an icon of chemistry and is widely used in physics and other s ...

the vertical ordering of elements in groups is based on the presence of the same number of

electron The electron (, or in nuclear reactions) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary charge, elementary electric charge. It is a fundamental particle that comprises the ordinary matter that makes up the universe, along with up qua ...

s in their outermost shell, which determines their

chemical A chemical substance is a unique form of matter with constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Chemical substances may take the form of a single element or chemical compounds. If two or more chemical substances can be combin ...

and physical properties. Because

(Nd) is right above

uranium Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...

(U) the chemical properties of uranyl acetate and neodymium(III) acetate would be very similar in binding to tissue in ultrathin sections thus leading to a similar amount of contrast.

Glass

Neodymium(III) acetate can also be used for

glass Glass is an amorphous (non-crystalline solid, non-crystalline) solid. Because it is often transparency and translucency, transparent and chemically inert, glass has found widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in window pane ...

and

capacitor In electrical engineering, a capacitor is a device that stores electrical energy by accumulating electric charges on two closely spaced surfaces that are insulated from each other. The capacitor was originally known as the condenser, a term st ...

s. It is useful in protective lenses for welding goggles. It is also used in

cathode A cathode is the electrode from which a conventional current leaves a polarized electrical device such as a lead-acid battery. This definition can be recalled by using the mnemonic ''CCD'' for ''Cathode Current Departs''. Conventional curren ...

ray tube screens to increase the contrast between red and green tones. It is highly valued in glass making because of its attractive purple tint to glass.

References

External reading

* {{Acetates Neodymium(III) compounds Acetates Electron microscopy stains