Structure of solvated metal ions in nitrate and chloride solutions of erbium(III) and yttrium(III) in dimethyl sulfoxide

Abstract

X-ray diffraction measurements on 1M yttrium(III) and erbium(III) nitrate and chloride solutions in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) have shown that Er(III) and Y(III) solutions of equal compositions are isostructural. The intensity difference functions can then be used to derive the detailed structure of the coordination sphere around the metal ions. The DMSO molecules are coordinated over oxygen with average M-O-S bond angles of about 130°. Two different conformations, corresponding to different relative orientations of the M-O and O-S bonds, seem to be prevalent. In the nitrate solutions an average of about 1.5 nitrate ions are coordinated as bidentate ligands to each metal ion. In the chloride solutions about 1.3 chloride ions belong to the inner-coordination sphere.