Ytterbium nitrate, hydrated

Hafnium and zirconium mononitrate tris(triflate), [M(H20)x(N03)](0Tf)35 were prepared from their tetrachlorides in analogous fashion to the lanthanide salts. Much to our delight these (deliquescent) salts displayed A, nitrate stretching frequencies in their IR spectra at 1651 and 1650 cm1 respectively. Armed with this pleasing information and with a specific programme aim of nitrating o-nitrotoluene (ONT) to dinitrotoluenes (DNTs) with these catalyst types, (catalytic quantities of ytterbium(III) triflate were essentially ineffective for this transformation) hafnium(IV) and zirconium(IV) triflate were prepared as their hydrated salts via metathesis of their tetrachlorides with silver triflate in water. 

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