Aluminium chloride

Aluminium chloride (AlCl3), also known as aluminium trichloride, is the main compound of aluminium and chlorine. It is white, but samples are often contaminated with iron(III) chloride, giving it a yellow color. The solid has a low melting and boiling point. It is mainly produced and consumed in the production of aluminium metal, but large amounts are also used in other areas of the chemical industry. The compound is often cited as a Lewis acid. It is an example of an inorganic compound that reversibly changes from a polymer to a monomer at mild temperature. AlCl3 adopts three different structures, depending on the temperature and the state (solid, liquid, gas). Solid AlCl3 is a sheet-like layered cubic close packed layers. In this framework, the Al centres exhibit octahedral coordination geometry. When aluminium trichloride is in its melted state, it exists as the dimer Al2Cl6, with tetracoordinate aluminium. This change in structure is related to the lower density of the liquid phase (1.78 g/cm3) versus solid aluminium trichloride (2.48 g/cm3). Al2Cl6 dimers are also found in the vapour phase. At higher temperatures, the Al2Cl6 dimers dissociate into trigonal planar AlCl3, which is structurally analogous to BF3. The melt conducts electricity poorly, unlike more-ionic halides such as sodium chloride. The hexahydrate consists of octahedral 3+ centers and chloride counterions. Hydrogen bonds link the cation and anions.The hydrated form of aluminium chloride has an octahedral molecular geometry, with the central aluminum ion surrounded by six water ligand molecules. This means that the hydrated form cannot act as a Lewis acid since it cannot accept electron pairs, and thus this cannot be used as a catalyst in Friedel-Crafts alkylation of aromatic compounds. Anhydrous aluminium chloride is a powerful Lewis acid, capable of forming Lewis acid-base adducts with even weak Lewis bases such as benzophenone and mesitylene. It forms tetrachloroaluminate (AlCl4−) in the presence of chloride ions. Aluminium chloride reacts with calcium and magnesium hydrides in tetrahydrofuran forming tetrahydroaluminates. Aluminium chloride is hygroscopic, having a very pronounced affinity for water. It fumes in moist air and hisses when mixed with liquid water as the Cl− ions are displaced with H2O molecules in the lattice to form the hexahydrate Cl3 (also white to yellowish in color). The anhydrous phase cannot be regained on heating as HCl is lost leaving aluminium hydroxide or alumina (aluminium oxide):