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Niobium(V) chloride, also known as niobium pentachloride, is a yellow crystalline solid often used as a starting material in niobium chemistry. It is prepared by heating niobium metal in chlorine. It is often contaminated with small amounts of niobium(V) oxychloride, NbOCl3, formed by hydrolysis or from traces of oxygen during the preparation. NbCl5 may be purified by sublimation.
Structure and properties Niobium(V) chloride forms chloro-bridged dimers in the solid state (see figure). Each niobium centre is six-coordinate, but the octahedral coordination is significantly distorted. The niobium–chlorine bond lengths are 225 pm (terminal) and 256 pm (bridging), while the Nb–Cl–Nb angle at the bridge is 101.3°. The Nb–Nb distance is 395.1 pm, too long for any metal-metal interaction. NbBr5, TaCl5 and TaBr5 are isostructural with NbCl5, but NbI5 and TaI5 have different structures. Uses
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