Plutonium(III) chloride is a chemical compound with the formula PuCl₃. This ionic plutonium salt can be prepared by reacting the metal with

hydrochloric acid Hydrochloric acid, also known as muriatic acid or spirits of salt, is an aqueous solution of hydrogen chloride (HCl). It is a colorless solution with a distinctive pungency, pungent smell. It is classified as a acid strength, strong acid. It is ...

Structure

Plutonium Plutonium is a chemical element; it has symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is a silvery-gray actinide metal that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four ...

atoms in crystalline PuCl₃ are 9 coordinate, and the structure is

tricapped trigonal prismatic In chemistry, the tricapped trigonal prismatic molecular geometry describes the shape of compounds where nine atoms, groups of atoms, or ligand In coordination chemistry, a ligand is an ion or molecule with a functional group that binds to a ...

. It crystallizes as the trihydrate, and forms lavender-blue solutions in water.John H. Burns, J. R. Peterson, J. N. Stevenson: "Crystallographic Studies of some Transuranic Trihalides: ²³⁹PuCl₃, ²⁴⁴CmBr₃, ²⁴⁹BkBr₃ and ²⁴⁹CfBr₃", ''

Journal of Inorganic and Nuclear Chemistry ''Polyhedron'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering the field of inorganic chemistry. It was established in 1955 as the ''Journal of Inorganic and Nuclear Chemistry'' and is published by Elsevier. Abstracting and indexing ''Polyhedron' ...

'' 1975, ''37 (3)'', 743–749; .

Safety

As with all

plutonium Plutonium is a chemical element; it has symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is a silvery-gray actinide metal that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four ...

compounds, it is subject to control under the

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperatio ...

. Due to the radioactivity of plutonium, all of its compounds, PuCl₃ included, are warm to the touch. Such contact is not recommended, since touching the material may result in serious injury.

References

Plutonium(III) compounds Nuclear materials Chlorides Actinide halides {{nuclear-tech-stub