PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

Aluminum chloride is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula AlCl3, which is a compound of chlorine and aluminum. Aluminum chloride has a very low melting point and boiling point, and it will sublimate, and is a covalent compound. Molten aluminum chloride is not easy to conduct electricity, unlike most salts containing halogen ions (such as sodium chloride).

AlCl3 is a "YCl3" structure, which is an Al3+ cubic closest-packed layered structure, while Al3+ in AlBr3 occupies the adjacent tetrahedral gaps of the Br− closest-packed framework. When melted, AlCl3 generates a volatile dimer Al2Cl6, which contains two three-center four-electron chlorine bridge bonds. At higher temperatures, the Al2Cl6 dimer dissociates to form a planar triangle AlCl3, which is similar to the structure of boron trifluoride (BF3).

Aluminum chloride is a white crystalline powder. Aluminum chloride vapor exists in the form of a covalent dimer molecule (Al2Cl6) when it is dissolved in a non-polar solvent or in a molten state. It is soluble in water and many organic solvents. The aqueous solution is acidic. Aluminum chloride can be used in the synthesis of di(arene)metal complexes by mixing it with aluminum in the presence of aromatic hydrocarbons. For example, diphenylchromium is prepared by the Fischer-Hafner synthesis of certain metal halides.