Aluminium chloride (AlCl3) is the main compound of aluminium and chlorine.

It is
white, but samples are often contaminated with iron(III) chloride, giving it a yellow color. The
solid has a low melting and boiling point. Aluminum chloride is used for making pure aluminum
metal. The compound can be put through a chemical reaction in which one of the products is
pure aluminum. Aluminum chloride has many industrial applications. It's used in making
petrochemicals, paint, and synthetic rubber. It's also used to treat water.

Cl3 adopts three different structures, depending on the temperature and the state (solid, liquid,
gas). Solid AlCl3 is a sheet-like layered cubic close packed layer. In this framework, the Al
centres exhibit octahedral coordination geometry. In the melt, aluminium trichloride exists as the
dimer Al2Cl6, with tetracoordinate aluminium. This change in structure is related to the lower
density of the liquid phase (1.78 g/𝑐𝑚3 ) vs solid aluminium trichloride (2.48 g/𝑐𝑚3 ). Al2Cl6
dimers are also found in the vapour phase. At higher temperatures, the Al2Cl6 dimers dissociate
into trigonal planar AlCl3, which is structurally analogous to BF3. The melt conducts electricity
poorly, unlike more ionic halides such as sodium chloride.

One of the most notable uses of aluminum chloride is its use in deodorant. Aluminum
chloride forms a gel that temporarily plugs up sweat glands and closes pores. This plugging of
sweat glands prevents sweating. Aluminum chloride is a definite life saver in the sweating
department, but there are some side effects. When it comes into contact with skin it can cause
burning, stinging, itching, and tingling. Not to worry though, these topical irritations occur with
pure aluminum chloride. When used in deodorants, it's combined with other chemicals.

In rare and extreme cases, aluminum chloride exposure can lead to Frey's Syndrome.
Frey's Syndrome occurs in the parotid glands (found on the side of the head just below the ears).
The symptoms include excessive sweating on cheeks, temples, and/or behind ears. Most who are
affected by the syndrome have reported that the sweating usually occurs after eating salty, spicy,
or sour foods. Aluminum chloride is a neurotoxin. Anhydrous AlCl3 reacts vigorously with
bases, so suitable precautions are required. It can cause irritation to the eyes, skin, and the
respiratory system if inhaled or on contact.

Anhydrous aluminium chloride is a most powerful Lewis acid, capable of forming Lewis
acid-base adducts with even weak Lewis bases such as benzophenone and mesitylene. It forms
tetrachloroaluminate AlCl4− in the presence of chloride ions. Aluminium chloride reacts with
calcium and magnesium hydrides in tetrahydrofuran forming tetrahydroaluminates.

Preparation of aluminum chloride hexahydrate (AlCl. 6H2O) A solution of aluminum

chloride can be prepared directly by the action of hydrochloric acid on the aluminum, but if this
solution is evaporated to dryness, the solid that is left is the aluminum oxide instead of the
aluminum chloride.

The equation for the preparation of aluminium chloride is 2Al+3Cl2 → 2AlCl3 .

Manganese dioxide, potassium permanganate, potassium dichromate or any other oxidizing
agent, suitable for generating chlorine from hydrochloric acid, is placed 1000 ml round-bottom
flask . Through the two-hole stopper a dropping funnel is attached and a glass delivery tube is
connected with the first of the two wash bottles. The first bottle contains water for absorption
any hydrochloric acid gas which may pass together with generated chlorine, and concentrated
sulfuric acid in the second, in order to dry the chlorine thoroughly. A hard glass tubing about 85
cm long and 1 cm is connected to the second wash bottle with a piece of delivery tube and a
stopper. The other end of the glass tube is connected to the receiver, which serves for escaping
fumes of chlorine. Into the reactor tube, 5 g of aluminum chips or turnings are placed, which
have been washed with ether or petroleum ether to remove oil, and then thoroughly dried.
Aluminum is placed near the end of the tube where the chlorine enters, the larger part of the tube
being kept clear. When all the apparatus is tightly joined together, chlorine gas is generated by
adding 40% of hydrochloric acid into the flask . The flask is gently warmed until a vigorous but
steady evolution of chlorine gas is established. In the beginning of the experiment, the chlorine
passes through the apparatus until all the air is expelled. Then the reactor tube containing the
aluminum is heated with the gas burner. The content becomes red-hot and then begins to glow
and scintillate as the reaction takes place. The aluminum chloride sublimes over into the cool end
of the tube, where it condenses as a pale yellow sublimate. The heating is continued as long as
the residue glows and when on prolonged heating it becomes black, the burner is removed and
the tube is allowed to cool, while the stream of chlorine continues to pass through the apparatus.
The reactor tube is disconnects while still warm, and obtained aluminum chloride is collected,
being careful not to mix any of residue with it. The aluminum chloride should be transferred at
once into a perfectly dry bottle, which has been previously weighed with its stopper. All
moisture must be avoided, and the transfer from the tube to the bottle must be made as quickly as
possible after disconnecting the tube. The reactor tube may be recharged at once with another 5 g
of aluminum.

Aluminium hydride is an inorganic compound with the formula AlH3. It is a

colourless pyrophoric solid. Although rarely encountered outside research laboratories, alane and
its derivatives are used as reducing agents in organic synthesis.

Alloys are mixtures of metal with other metals or non-metals. This process gives
the material more desirable properties, such as increased hardness and lower melting points.
There are two main types of alloys. These are called substitution alloys and interstitial alloys. In
substitution alloys, the atoms of the original metal are literally replaced with atoms that have
roughly the same size from another material. Brass, for example, is an example of a substitution
alloy of copper and zinc. An interstitial compound or interstitial alloy is a compound that is
formed when an atom of sufficiently small radius sits in an interstitial “hole” in a metal lattice.
Examples of small atoms are hydrogen, boron, carbon and nitrogen.

Mixing metals together or with non-metals offers many advantages. These combination
materials can have enhanced hardness, lower melting points, and better tensile strength. Since
pure metals have a high melting point, they tend to be very soft. Pure gold tends to be very
malleable and is easily bent with a small amount of heat applied. This is the reason why most
gold jewelry is actually an alloy. Metals tend to be very reactive and have high melting points.
Iron, for example, is very strong but reacts with moisture in the air and can rust very easily.
Casting iron as an alloy can help to increase its inertness and prevent this.

Individual pure metals may possess useful properties such as good electrical conductivity, high
strength, and hardness, or heat and corrosion resistance. Commercial metal alloys attempt to
combine these beneficial properties in order to create metals more useful for particular
applications than any of their component elements. Steel, for example, requires the right
combination of carbon and iron which is about 99% iron and 1% carbon, as it turns out in order
to produce a metal stronger, lighter and more workable metal than pure iron. It also has more
corrosion resistant than plain carbon steal