Octa­urea­samarium(III) triiodide

The Sm atom of the title compound, [Sm(CH₄N₂O)₈]I₃, is eight-coordinate, with eight monodentate urea ligands bound through their O atoms; the corresponding polyhedron is a distorted double-capped trigonal prism. All the urea mol­ecules are involved in intramolecular hydrogen bonds. This compound is a rare example of a lanthanide complex containing no water and in which the anions do not serve as ligands.