Lutetium compounds

[1] Aqueous solutions of most lutetium salts are colorless and form white crystalline solids upon drying, with the common exception of the iodide.

The soluble salts, such as nitrate, sulfate and acetate form hydrates upon crystallization.

[3][4][5] Lutetium(III) oxide is an important raw material for laser crystals.

Lutetium(III) oxide is used as a catalyst in cracking, alkylation, hydrogenation, and polymerization.

[10] Lutetium(III) chloride forms hygroscopic white monoclinic crystals[11] and also a hydroscopic hexahydrate LuCl3·6H2O.

It is a double-decker sandwich compound consisting of a Lu3+ ion coordinated to two the conjugate base of two phthalocyanines.

[22] The complex features a non-innocent ligand, in the sense that the macrocycles carry an extra electron.

[22] It, along with many substituted derivatives like the alkoxy-methyl derivative Lu[(C8H17OCH2)8Pc]2, can be deposited as a thin film with intrinsic semiconductor properties;[23] said properties arise due to its radical nature[20] and its low reduction potential compared to other metal phthalocyanines.