Dieuropium(III) trisulfate octahydrate: a redetermination at 120 K

The title compound, Eu-2(SO4)(3).8H(2)O, crystallizes in space group C2/c, with one of the anions lying on a twofold rotation axis and the other in a general position, and is best formulated as [Eu(H2O)(4/1)(SO4)(3/3)(SO4)(1/2)](2), where one of the anions lies across a twofold axis. The coordination environment of Eu-III consists of four water molecules and four sulfate ions. All the water molecules and sulfate ions are involved in hydrogen-bonding interactions. The structure is similar to that previously determined at 293 K [Wei & Zheng (2003). Z. Kristallogr. New Cryst. Struct. 218, 277-278], but the cell parameters and the interatomic distances are more precise in the present determination.