Sciencemadness Discussion Board - Anything fun to do with Aluminum Chloride

Anything fun to do with Aluminum Chloride

oxybate - 6-7-2007 at 10:49

I believe its the hydrated form.

Any cool color changes or what not with things lying around the house?

woelen - 6-7-2007 at 13:26

Aluminium chloride hexahydrate is not that interesting. You can make precipitates of Al(OH)3 with it, which redissolve on adding more base, forming aluminates. Adding acid again produces the precipitate again, which redissolves on adding more acid.

The hydrate is not really suitable as an aid in organic syntheses, for that purpose the anhydrous solid is used.

Aluminium chloride has one interesting effect, it has a deodorizing effect, and as such, a dilute solution of this compound can be used.

Making colorful precipitates with aluminium ions is not easy. The ion is colorless, and in precipitates it does not add to the color. As long as the anion in the precipitate is colorless, the precipitate will be white. With ferricyanides and ferrocyanides you can obtain colored precipitates, but these are due to the color of the anion.

Nerro - 6-7-2007 at 14:12

Does it fume when you put water on it? If it doesn't it is the hydrated form and it's pretty much useless.

[Edited on 6-7-2007 by Nerro]

12AX7 - 6-7-2007 at 14:24

I have some of what I recall is hexahydroaluminum chloride, which dried to yellowish crystals which eventually became gooey (amorphous, I would suspect) and yellow-orange.

Tim

cbfull - 2-8-2007 at 19:03

If you make a 20% solution in anhydrous ethanol you have a prescription strength antiperspirant.

Nerro - 2-8-2007 at 22:12

Yeah how does that work?!

YT2095 - 3-8-2007 at 06:14

if you get a hot enough burning composition (a perchlorate), you should be able to use it as a chlorine donor in strobe effect stars.

unionised - 3-8-2007 at 16:35

I'm not sure that answers this question "Yeah how does that work?! "
in this context "If you make a 20% solution in anhydrous ethanol you have a prescription strength antiperspirant" unles you have pyrotechnic armpits on a regular basis.

Ozone - 3-8-2007 at 16:42

I don't know how fun it is, but...

Hydrated AlCl3 is an excellent coagulant for cloudy water, etc. It can be used to clarify most aqueous samples including river water, sewage, cane juice, etc. See poly aluminum chloride (PAC).

Cheers,

O3

[Edited on 3-8-2007 by Ozone]

12AX7 - 3-8-2007 at 20:03

And also a mordant (when neutralized, gives floc of Al(OH)3 which absorbs dyes well).

Tim

YT2095 - 4-8-2007 at 05:38

Quote:

Originally posted by unionised
I'm not sure that answers this question "Yeah how does that work?! "
in this context "If you make a 20% solution in anhydrous ethanol you have a prescription strength antiperspirant" unles you have pyrotechnic armpits on a regular basis.

because I wasn`t addressing that, I was addressing the OP, if you scroll up to the top you`ll see "Anything fun to do with Aluminum Chloride?" was asked.
That`s what I was addressing

organometallic - 4-8-2007 at 16:57

Can be used in various organic reactions..Not sure If you will consider these fun exactly, but it can be used to catalyse friedal-crafts reactions, useful in polymerisation and isomerisation of various hydrocarbons. It can also be used to introduce aldehyde groups onto aromatic rings (benzaldehyde, anyone?).
-mostly from wikipedia.

Nerro - 4-8-2007 at 17:08

That only works with anhydrous AlCl3 and not with [Al(H2O)6]Cl3

Nicodem - 4-8-2007 at 23:13

Quote:

Originally posted by organometallic
Can be used in various organic reactions..

There is no use for it in organic reactions that I know of and I'm an organic chemist so I should know. As Nerro indicates you obviously confused it with AlCl3 which is a strong acid used to enhance many electrophiles and activate some proelectrophiles for many types of reactions (including Friedel-Crafts reactions). But [Al(H2O)6]Cl3 is a weak acid and is completely useless as such.