Cobalt(III) chloride
Cobalt(III) chloride or cobaltic chloride is an unstable and elusive compound of cobalt and chlorine with formula CoCl
3. In this compound, the cobalt atoms have a formal charge of +3.
| Names | |
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| IUPAC name
Cobalt(III) chloride | |
| Other names
Cobaltic chloride Cobalt trichloride | |
| Identifiers | |
3D model (JSmol) |
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| ChemSpider | |
| ECHA InfoCard | 100.030.509 |
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PubChem CID |
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CompTox Dashboard (EPA) |
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| Properties | |
| CoCl3 | |
| Molar mass | 165.2913 g/mol (anhydrous) |
| Melting point | Solid decomposes over −60°C |
| Solubility | soluble in ethanol, diethyl ether |
| Hazards | |
| GHS labelling: | |
| Danger | |
| H300, H330 | |
| P260, P264, P270, P271, P284, P301+P310, P304+P340, P310, P320, P321, P330, P403+P233, P405, P501 | |
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
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The compound has been reported to exist in the gas phase at high temperatures, in equilibrium with cobalt(II) chloride and chlorine gas. It has also been found to be stable at very low temperatures, dispersed in a frozen argon matrix.
Some articles from the 1920s and 1930s claim the synthesis of bulk amounts of this compound in pure form; however, those results do not seem to have been reproduced, or have been attributed to other substances like the hexachlorocobaltate(III) anion CoCl3−
6. Those earlier reports claim that it gives green solutions in anhydrous solvents such as ethanol and diethyl ether, and that it is stable only a very low temperatures (below −60 °C).