Rubidium chloride

Rubidium compounds: rubidium chloride

The rubidium in rubidium chloride formally is in the oxidation state 1.

Rubidium chloride

• Formula as often written: RbCl
• Hill system formula: Cl₁Rb₁
• CAS registry number: [7791-11-9]
• Formula weight: 120.921
• Class: chloride

Synonyms

• rubidium chloride
• rubidium(I) chloride

Physical properties

• Colour: white
• Appearance: crystalline solid
• Melting point: 718°C; 718°C
• Boiling point: 1390°C
• Density: 2760 kg m^-3

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Element analysis

Element percentages for the elements in rubidium chloride

Element	%
Cl	29.32
Rb	70.68

Synthesis

One way to make rubidium chloride is to react the hydroxide with hydrochloric acid. The resulting salt can then be purified by recrystallization.

RbOH(aq) + HCl(aq) → RbCl(aq) + H₂O(l)

Rubidium(I) bromide can also be made by the neutralization of rubidium(I) carbonate with hydrobromic acid. The resulting salt can then be purified by recrystallization.

Rb₂(CO₃)(aq) + 2HBr(aq) → 2RbBr(aq) + H₂O(l) + CO₂(g)

While not a normal route of preparation because of the expense, rubidium metal reacts vigorously with all the halogens to form rubidium halides. So, it burns with chlorine, Cl₂, to form rubidium(I) chloride, RbCl.

2Rb(s) + Cl₂(g) → 2RbCl(s)

Solid state structure

• Geometry of rubidium: 6 coordinate: octahedral
• Prototypical structure: NaCl (rock salt)

Isotope pattern

What follows is the calculated isotope pattern for the RbCl unit with the most intense ion set to 100%.

Formula: Rb₁Cl₁

mass  %
120 100.0 __________________________________________________
121   0.0 
122  70.5 ___________________________________
123   0.0 
124  12.3 ______

References

The data on these compounds pages are assembled and adapted from the primary literature and several other sources including the following.

• R.T. Sanderson in Chemical Periodicity, Reinhold, New York, USA, 1960.
• N.N. Greenwood and A. Earnshaw in Chemistry of the Elements, 2nd edition, Butterworth, UK, 1997.
• F.A. Cotton, G. Wilkinson, C.A. Murillo, and M. Bochmann, in Advanced Inorganic Chemistry, John Wiley & Sons, 1999.
• A.F. Trotman-Dickenson, (ed.) in Comprehensive Inorganic Chemistry, Pergamon, Oxford, UK, 1973.
• R.W.G. Wyckoff, in Crystal Structures, volume 1, Interscience, John Wiley & Sons, 1963.
• A.R.West in Basic solid state chemistry Chemistry, John Wiley & Sons, 1999.
• A.F. Wells in Structural inorganic chemistry, 4th edition, Oxford, UK, 1975.
• J.D.H. Donnay, (ed.) in Crystal data determinative tables, ACA monograph number 5, American Crystallographic Association, USA, 1963.
• D.R. Lide, (ed.) in Chemical Rubber Company handbook of chemistry and physics, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, USA, 77th edition, 1996.
• J.W. Mellor in A comprehensive treatise on inorganic and theoretical chemistry, volumes 1-16, Longmans, London, UK, 1922-1937.
• J.E. Macintyre (ed.) in Dictionary of inorganic compounds, volumes 1-3, Chapman & Hall, London, UK, 1992.

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Rubidium	Rubidium
Rubidium	Rubidium
Rubidio	Rubidio
Rubidium	Rubídio