MOLECULAR AND CRYSTAL-STRUCTURE OF YTTERBIUM(III)-TRIAQUA-TRINITRATE, YB(H2O)3(NO3)3

Yb(H2O)3(NO3)3 crystallizes from a concentrated solution of Yb2O3 in nitric acid in a vacuum desiccator at ambient temperature as colourless single crystals. The crystal structure was determined from single crystal four-circle diffractometer data (R3BAR, Z = 6, a = 1175.5(1), c = 1117.7(2) pm, V(m) = 134.25 cm3/mol, R = 3.0%, R(w) = 2.9%). The structure may be viewed at as a heavily compressed packing of [Yb(H2O)3(NO3)3] molecules. Yb3+ is coordinated by three bidentate nitrate ligands and three water molecules so that a tricapped trigonal prism (C.N. 9) of oxygen atoms results as the coordination polyhedron.