Characteristic

Iridium(III) chloride is the inorganic compound with the formula IrCl₃. The anhydrous compound is relatively rare, but the related hydrate is useful for preparing other iridium compounds. The anhydrous salt is a dark green crystalline solid. More commonly encountered is the trihydrate IrCl₃(H₂O)₃.

Chemical formula：IrCl₃

Molar mass： 298.58 g/mol (anhydrous)

Appearance： dark green solid   hygroscopic

Density： 5.30 g/cm³, solid

Melting point： 763 °C (1,405 °F; 1,036 K) (decomposes)

Solubility in water：insoluble (anhydrous IrCl₃), soluble (hydrated derivative)

Magnetic susceptibility (χ)：−14.4·10⁻⁶ cm³/mol

Crystal structure：Monoclinic, mS16

Application

Industrially, most iridium complexes are generated from ammonium hexachloroiridate or the related chloroiridic acid (H₂IrCl₆) as these salts are the most common commercial forms of iridium chlorides.

Hydrated iridium(III) chloride is used in the laboratory for the preparation of other iridium compounds such as Vaska's complex, trans-[IrCl(CO)(PPh₃)₂]. Alkene complexes such as cyclooctadiene iridium chloride dimer and chlorobis(cyclooctene)iridium dimer can also be prepared by heating the trichloride with the appropriate alkene in water/alcohol mixtures.

Iridium (III) chloride-MSDS.pdf