Aluminium trichloride or aluminium (III) chloride are the other names for aluminium chloride.
is the chemical formula for it. When it comes to aesthetics, aluminium chloride is typically white.
Aluminium chloride is used to make aluminium metal in industry, but it also has a variety of functions in the chemical industry, specifically as a Lewis acid.
Covalently bound solid aluminium chloride () has a low melting and boiling temperature.
Reason for a good catalyst:
Aluminium chloride is an incredibly potent Lewis acid. A Lewis acid is a substance that can accept a pair of electrons.
Aluminium chloride is primarily used in the chlorination process in Friedel Crafts reactions.
Aluminium chloride is used to organise and break these bonds, resulting in the halogenation process.
Aluminium chloride aids in the chlorination of aromatic compounds like benzene. In this procedure, is regenerated, and is formed as a by-product.
is also used as a catalyst in the Friedel Crafts acylation, which produces aromatic ketones as well as as a by-product.
In , aluminium possesses 6 electrons in its outermost shell, making it electron deficient. As a result, it can accept a pair of electrons.