Californium triiodide can be prepared in microgram quantities under high vacuum. It can be prepared at 500 °C from californium(III) hydroxide and hydrogen iodide:
Cf(OH)3 + 3HI → CfI3 + 3H2O
Physical properties
The compound forms a red-orange solid. The triiodide sublimes at ~800 °C without melting. It crystallizes in the trigonal crystal structure in the space group R3 (No. 148) with the lattice parameters a = 758.7 pm and c = 2081.4 pm with six formula units per unit cell. Its crystal structure is isotypic with that of bismuth(III) iodide.