chemistry

Plutonium tetrachloride

Plutonium tetrachloride is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Plutonium tetrachloride rather than just read about it. In short: Plutonium tetrachloride or plutonium(IV) chloride is an inorganic compound of plutonium and chlorine with the chemical formula PuCl4. While it is not known as a solid, gaseous PuCl4 is known.

Key takeaways

Plutonium tetrachloride belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Plutonium tetrachloride to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Plutonium tetrachloride from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Plutonium tetrachloride or plutonium(IV) chloride is an inorganic compound of plutonium and chlorine with the chemical formula PuCl4. While it is not known as a solid, gaseous PuCl4 is known. In addition, it is known to form several stable adducts. The dimethoxyethane adduct, PuCl4(DME)2, has been used as a precursor to other plutonium compounds.

Synthesis The compound is formed when plutonium trichloride is put in a stream of chlorine:

2 PuCl3 + Cl2 → 2 PuCl4

Physical properties The compound is not stable as a solid; however, it is known in the gas phase. When condensed, it forms plutonium(III) chloride and chlorine gas:

2 PuCl4 → 2 PuCl3 + Cl2 However, several stable adducts, such as with dimethoxyethane (PuCl4(DME)2) or diphenylsulfoxide, and ammoniates (solids incorporating ammonia), are known. The diphenylsulfoxide adduct appears as a red solid.

Complexes

With dimethoxyethane Plutonium tetrachloride forms a stable adduct with dimethoxyethane (CH3OCH2CH2OCH3) with formula PuCl4(DME)2 (DME=dimethoxyethane). This compound can be prepared via evaporation of a hydrochloric acid solution containing plutonium(IV), adding the product to dimethoxyethane, and then adding trimethylsilyl chloride. This adduct can be used to prepare other compounds. For example, when it is dissolved in tetrahydrofuran, it is partially reduced to form the mixed-valence complex [PuIIICl2(THF)5]+[PuIVCl5(THF)]−. (THF=tetrahydrofuran). It has also been used to prepare the compound plutonium(IV) N-(tert-butyl)isobutyramide (Pu(ita)4, ita=N-(tert-butyl)isobutyramide) through reaction with potassium N-(tert-butyl)isobutyramide. Pu(ita)4 has been investigated in the production of oxidation state-pure plutonium(IV) oxide.

Other complexes Plutonium tetrachloride also forms an adduct with diphenylsulfoxide (Ph2SO). This adduct has been prepared by boiling a solution consisting of plutonium(IV) dissolved in hydrochloric acid, suspending the residue in acetonitrile, and adding to it an acetonitrile solution of diphenylsulfoxide. The resulting product has the formula PuCl4(Ph2SO)3, and is a rare example of plutonium in its +4 oxidation state with a coordination number of 7 (forming 7 bonds). When the related compound dicaesium hexachloroplutonate is reacted with liquid ammonia at low temperatures, the ammoniate (solid incorporating ammonia). The initial product has composition PuCl4·~7–8NH3, which decomposes over a period of weeks to form PuCl4·5NH3. PuCl4·5NH3 is stable at room temperature. Both compounds are ammine complexes, meaning that the ammonia in them is bonded to the plutonium atoms.

Related compounds

Anionic derivatives

Even though binary plutonium(IV) chloride is not known as a solid, solid compounds derived from it, such as dicaesium hexachloroplutonate (Cs2PuCl6), are known. In this compound, the +4 oxidation state of plutonium is stabilized by complexing with caesium chloride. It is made up of discrete hexachloroplutonate (PuCl2−6) ions.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Plutonium tetrachloride

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Plutonium tetrachloride claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Plutonium tetrachloride before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Plutonium tetrachloride ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Plutonium tetrachloride

In research: Plutonium tetrachloride appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Plutonium tetrachloride in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Plutonium tetrachloride is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Chlorides, Plutonium(IV) compounds, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Plutonium tetrachloride outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Plutonium tetrachloride in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Plutonium tetrachloride means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Plutonium tetrachloride out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Plutonium tetrachloride in simple terms?

Plutonium tetrachloride or plutonium(IV) chloride is an inorganic compound of plutonium and chlorine with the chemical formula PuCl4. While it is not known as a solid, gaseous PuCl4 is known.

Why does Plutonium tetrachloride matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Plutonium tetrachloride?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Plutonium tetrachloride.