Holmium (III) Bromide Hydrate

Holmium (III) Bromide hydrate is a yellow, water-soluble, and hygroscopic salt used primarily as a precursor for Holmium-containing materials. It is commonly employed in doping surgical lasers, as a glass colorant, and in the production of magnetic materials, taking advantage of Holmium’s exceptionally high magnetic permeability and saturation. Additionally, it is a strong neutron absorber.

For example, researchers at the University of Stuttgart in Germany used Holmium Bromide in a solid-state synthesis of luminescent rare-earth metal bromide ortho-oxidotungstates. In this process, the Holmium Bromide was added in five-fold excess, serving both as a reagent and as a flux to facilitate the synthesis.

References

1. Plass, M. A., Bette, S., Dinnebier, R. E., & Lotsch, B. v. (2022). Enhancement of Superionic Conductivity by Halide Substitution in Strongly Stacking Faulted Li3HoBr6–xIx Phases. Chemistry of Materials, 34(7), 3227–3235. https://doi.org/10.1021/ACS.CHEMMATER.2C00024
2. Schustereit, T., Schleid, T., & Hartenbach, I. (2015). Syntheses and crystal structures of the rare-earth metal(III) bromide ortho-oxidotungstates(VI) with the formula REBr[WO4] (RE = Y, Gd–Yb). Solid State Sciences, 48, 218–224. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SOLIDSTATESCIENCES.2015.08.013