Triflic Acid
Hazard to Others
Posts: 486
Registered: 27-9-2020
Member Is Offline
Mood: Slowly Oxidizing into Oblivion
|
|
Sodium tetrachloroaluminate
Found a paper that suggests that NaAlCl4 can be electrolyzed in Propylene carbonate to form sodium metal. NaCl is insoluble in Prop Carbonate, so it
can't be used. So, as far as I've read, it can be made by mixing solutions of NaCl and AlCl3 to and then heating the product to dryness. Since I am
making sodium, I need there to be no water attached to the molecule, whether as a ligand or hydrate. So, does NaAlCl4 form any hydrates/water ligands?
There wasn't a fire, we just had an uncontrolled rapid oxidation event at the power plant.
|
|
|
Bedlasky
International Hazard
Posts: 1219
Registered: 15-4-2019
Location: Period 5, group 6
Member Is Offline
Mood: Volatile
|
|
I doubt that you can make anhydrous product from aqueous solution.
|
|
|
Texium
Administrator
Posts: 4508
Registered: 11-1-2014
Location: Salt Lake City
Member Is Offline
Mood: PhD candidate!
|
|
Bedlasky's doubts are well-supported. It is made by melting together sodium chloride and anhydrous aluminum chloride. Hydrous aluminum chloride is an
entirely different chemical species.
|
|
|
Triflic Acid
Hazard to Others
Posts: 486
Registered: 27-9-2020
Member Is Offline
Mood: Slowly Oxidizing into Oblivion
|
|
If I am not wrong, somewhere in a thread, blogfast25 (where did he go?) prepared pottasium tetrachloroaluminate via the "wet process" Thread: http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=29683
Full quote
"
One pot method: 0.1 mol clean Al scrap + 20 % excess of HCl 37 % + stoichiometric amount of KCl. Heat slowly, reaction is highly exothermic when it
starts. To dissolve the last stubborn bits of Al I had to add a bit more HCl. Then simmered it down to about half the initial volume. Crystals
immediately appeared when I stopped heating. Cool, then chill and collect. Dry at 200 C for about 1 h - 2 h.
Al(s) + 3 HCl(aq) + KCl(aq) === > KAlCl<sub>4</sub>(aq) + 3/2 H<sub>2</sub>(aq)
"
So, how does this look? I'll do it with NaCl instead, but it should be similar.
There wasn't a fire, we just had an uncontrolled rapid oxidation event at the power plant.
|
|
|
Texium
Administrator
Posts: 4508
Registered: 11-1-2014
Location: Salt Lake City
Member Is Offline
Mood: PhD candidate!
|
|
Looks like I was rather interested in that procedure 7 years ago, though I never attempted it, and I’m a bit more skeptical of it now. 
Did you read the whole thread, or just the first post? On the second page there are concerns raised that blogfast’s literature sources may not be
accurate, and that the salts do indeed form hydrates. This is also supported by the eEROS entry on sodium tetrachloroaluminate (download it from
Sci-Hub if you want to see it yourself), which cites preparing it from the melt of anhydrous aluminum chloride and sodium chloride, and mentions a
vigorous reaction of the resulting material with water.
Additionally, it is worth noting that the “wet” procedure may not work for the sodium salt in the same way. Oftentimes, complex ions such as this
are not conveniently precipitated by the smaller alkali metals, and require the use of potassium, rubidium, or cesium to prepare good crystals, while
the sodium analog may remain dissolved in solution, and attempts to crystallize it will result in a mixture of NaCl and aluminum chloride hydrates.
|
|
|
![[*]](images/xpblue/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
