Until the last quarter of the 20th century, the real existence of the bismuthyl ion was not in doubt; it was fully present in all reference books and manuals on inorganic chemistry, including German and English ones. The most famous compound of this class was considered bismuthyl chloride, the chemical properties of which were studied in detail and were considered titular for all other bismuth compounds. In addition, the compound with the calculation formula BiOCl exists in nature in the form of bismoclitea, one of the secondary metamorphosed minerals from the class of halides.
In the fundamental three-volume book “Modern Inorganic Chemistry” by Nobel laureate Frank Cotton and Geoffrey Wilkinson, summarizing the latest achievements of science in the first half of the 20th century, the real existence of the bismuthyl cation is not only not questioned, but is not even discussed in any detail. This inorganic radical is mentioned without further explanation and is by default considered a legacy of the fundamental corpus of inorganic chemistry of the 19th century. First of all, the authors note that of the entire group of pnictogens, only bismuth has a truly extensive and detailed cation chemistry. According to the authors, aqueous solutions of bismuth salts contain well-defined hydrated cations. Moreover, bismuthyl in the newest version at that time also acquires quasi-polymeric properties, connecting into chains or hexagons. For example, in neutral perchlorate solutions the main ions are [BiO] or its hydrated form [Bi(OH)], and at higher pH values [BiO(OH)] are formed.