Appearance
NdCl3 is a mauve colored hygroscopic solid whose color changes to purple upon absorption of atmospheric water. The resulting hydrate, like many other neodymium salts, has the interesting property that it appears different colors under flourencent light- In the chloride's case, light yellow (see picture). The color difference is likely due to the charge transfer converting the Nd3+ ions into the Nd2+ state; the orange absorption band of Nd3+ decreases and the green Nd2+ absorption increases producing the yellowish color.
Read more about this topic: Neodymium(III) Chloride
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