Aluminium Chloride (AlCl₃)
Appearance: White or yellowish crystalline solid; often deliquescent (absorbs moisture from air).
Properties:
- Highly reactive with water, forming hydrochloric acid and aluminum hydroxide.
- Strong Lewis acid, widely used as a catalyst in organic reactions.
- Molecular weight: 133.34 g/mol.
Industrial Uses of Aluminium Chloride
Chemical Industry / Catalysis
- Major catalyst in Friedel-Crafts reactions for producing aromatic compounds.
- Used in alkylation and acylation reactions to manufacture dyes, pharmaceuticals, and perfumes.
Pharmaceuticals
- Used in the production of certain drugs and intermediates.
- Active ingredient in antiperspirants (aluminium-based salts).
Paper Industry
- Used as a flocculant and coagulating agent in paper sizing to improve paper quality.
Water Treatment
- Acts as a coagulant in water purification, helping remove suspended impurities.
Textile Industry
- Used as a mordant in dyeing to fix dyes on fabrics.
Petroleum & Petrochemical Industry
- Catalyst in alkylation processes for producing high-octane gasoline.
Organic Synthesis
- Widely used in the manufacture of explosives, resins, and fine chemicals.
- Used in nitration reactions to produce nitro compounds (e.g., nitrobenzene, TNT).
- Production of sulfates, dyes, and detergents.