Scandium(III) hydroxide is an
inorganic compound
In chemistry, an inorganic compound is typically a chemical compound that lacks carbon–hydrogen bonds, that is, a compound that is not an organic compound. The study of inorganic compounds is a subfield of chemistry known as '' inorganic chemi ...
with the chemical formula Sc(OH)
3, the trivalent
hydroxide
Hydroxide is a diatomic anion with chemical formula OH−. It consists of an oxygen and hydrogen atom held together by a single covalent bond, and carries a negative electric charge. It is an important but usually minor constituent of water ...
of
scandium
Scandium is a chemical element with the symbol Sc and atomic number 21. It is a silvery-white metallic d-block element. Historically, it has been classified as a rare-earth element, together with yttrium and the Lanthanides. It was discovere ...
. It is an
amphoteric
In chemistry, an amphoteric compound () is a molecule or ion that can react both as an acid and as a base. What exactly this can mean depends on which definitions of acids and bases are being used.
One type of amphoteric species are amphip ...
compound. It is slightly soluble in water, and its saturated solution (pH = 7.85) contains Sc(OH)
3 and a small amount of Sc(OH)
2+. The solubility of scandium(III) hydroxide in water is 0.0279 mol/L. It will convert to ScO(OH) after aging, greatly reducing the solubility (0.0008 mol/L). Scandium(III) hydroxide can be produced by reacting scandium salts and alkali hydroxides. In the reaction, different starting ingredients can generate different intermediates such as Sc(OH)
1.75Cl
1.25, Sc(OH)
2NO
3 and Sc(OH)
2.32(SO
4)
0.34.
[Mironov, N. N.; Mal'kevich, N. V. Scandium hydroxide formation reaction. ''Zhurnal Neorganicheskoi Khimii'', 1970. 15 (3): 599-601.]
References
{{hydroxides
Scandium compounds
Hydroxides