Chromium(III) chloride




































































Chromium(III) chloride (also called chromic chloride) describes any of several compounds of with the formula CrCl3(H2O)x, where x can be 0, 5, and 6. The anhydrous compound with the formula CrCl3 is a violet solid. The most common form of the trichloride is the dark green "hexahydrate", CrCl3.6H2O. Chromium chloride finds uses as catalysts and as precursors to dyes for wool.




Contents





  • 1 Structure

    • 1.1 Chromium(III) chloride hydrates



  • 2 Preparation


  • 3 Reactions

    • 3.1 Complexes with organic ligands


    • 3.2 Precursor to organochromium complexes


    • 3.3 Use in organic synthesis


    • 3.4 Dyestuffs



  • 4 Precautions


  • 5 References


  • 6 Further reading


  • 7 External links




Structure


Anhydrous chromium(III) chloride adopts the YCl3 structure, with Cr3+ occupying two thirds of the octahedral interstices in alternating layers of a pseudo-cubic close packed lattice of Cl ions. The absence of cations in alternate layers leads to weak bonding between adjacent layers. For this reason, crystals of CrCl3cleave easily along the planes between layers, which results in the flaky (micaceous) appearance of samples of chromium(III) chloride.[4][5]



Chromium(III) chloride hydrates


Chromium(III) chlorides display the somewhat unusual property of existing in a number of distinct chemical forms (isomers), which differ in terms of the number of chloride anions that are coordinated to Cr(III) and the water of crystallization. The different forms exist both as solids, and in aqueous solutions. Several members are known of the series of [CrCl3−n(H2O)n]z+. The main hexahydrate can be more precisely described as [CrCl2(H2O)4]Cl•2H2O. It consists of the cation trans-[CrCl2(H2O)4]+ and additional molecules of water and a chloride anion in the lattice.[6] Two other hydrates are known, pale green [CrCl(H2O)5]Cl2•H2O and violet [Cr(H2O)6]Cl3. Similar behaviour occurs with other chromium(III) compounds.



Preparation


Anhydrous chromium(III) chloride may be prepared by chlorination of chromium metal directly, or indirectly by carbothermic chlorination of chromium(III) oxide at 650–800 °C[7][8]


Cr2O3 + 3 C + 3 Cl2 → 2 CrCl3 + 3 CO

Dehydration with trimethylsilyl chloride in THF gives the solvate:[9]


CrCl3•6H2O + 12 Me3SiCl → CrCl3(THF)3 + 6 (Me3Si)2O + 12 HCl

It may also be prepared by treating the hexahydrate with thionyl chloride:[10]


CrCl3•6H2O + 6 SOCl2 → CrCl3 + 6 SO2 + 12 HCl

The hydrated chlorides are prepared by treatment of chromate with hydrochloric acid and methanol. In laboratory the hydrates are usually prepared by dissolving the chromium metal or chromium(III) oxide in hydrochloric acid.[citation needed]



Reactions


Slow reaction rates are common with chromium(III) complexes. The low reactivity of the d3 Cr3+ ion can be explained using crystal field theory. One way of opening CrCl3 up to substitution in solution is to reduce even a trace amount to CrCl2, for example using zinc in hydrochloric acid. This chromium(II) compound undergoes substitution easily, and it can exchange electrons with CrCl3 via a chloride bridge, allowing all of the CrCl3 to react quickly.


With the presence of some chromium(II), however, solid CrCl3 dissolves rapidly in water. Similarly, ligand substitution reactions of solutions of [CrCl2(H2O)4]+ are accelerated by chromium(II) catalysts.


With molten alkali metal chlorides such as potassium chloride, CrCl3 gives salts of the type M3CrCl6 and K3Cr2Cl9, which is also octahedral but where the two chromiums are linked via three chloride bridges.



Complexes with organic ligands


CrCl3 is a Lewis acid, classified as "hard" according to the Hard-Soft Acid-Base theory. It forms a variety of adducts of the type [CrCl3L3]z, where L is a Lewis base. For example, it reacts with pyridine (C
5
H
5
N
) to form an adduct:


CrCl3 + 3 C5H5N → CrCl3(C5H5N)3

Treatment with trimethylsilylchloride in THF gives the anhydrous THF complex:[11]


CrCl3.(H2O)6 + 12 (CH3)3SiCl + 3 THF → CrCl3(THF)3 + 6 ((CH3)3Si)2O + 12 HCl


Precursor to organochromium complexes


Chromium(III) chloride is used as the precursor to many organochromium compounds, for example bis(benzene)chromium, an analogue of ferrocene:


CrCl3 dibenzenechromium.png

Phosphine complexes derived from CrCl3 catalyse the trimerization of ethylene to 1-hexene.[12][13]



Use in organic synthesis


One niche use of CrCl3 in organic synthesis is for the in situ preparation of chromium(II) chloride, a reagent for the reduction of alkyl halides and for the synthesis of (E)-alkenyl halides. The reaction is usually performed using two moles of CrCl3 per mole of lithium aluminium hydride, although if aqueous acidic conditions are appropriate zinc and hydrochloric acid may be sufficient.


CrCl3 CrCl2.png

Chromium(III) chloride has also been used as a Lewis acid in organic reactions, for example to catalyse the nitroso Diels-Alder reaction.[14]



Dyestuffs


A number of chromium-containing dyes are used commercially for wool. Typical dyes are triarylmethanes consisting of ortho-hydroxylbenzoic acid derivatives.[15]



Precautions


Although trivalent chromium is far less poisonous than hexavalent, chromium salts are generally considered toxic.



References




  1. ^ http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/aldrich/200050?lang=en&region=AU


  2. ^ abc "NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards #0141". National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). 


  3. ^ "Chromium(III) compounds [as Cr(III)]". Immediately Dangerous to Life and Health Concentrations (IDLH). National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). 


  4. ^ Greenwood, Norman N.; Earnshaw, Alan (1997). Chemistry of the Elements (2nd ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann. p. 1020. ISBN 0-08-037941-9. 


  5. '^ A. F. Wells, Structural Inorganic Chemistry, 5th ed., Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK, 1984.


  6. ^ Ian G. Dance, Hans C. Freeman "The Crystal Structure of Dichlorotetraaquochromium(III) Chloride Dihydrate: Primary and Secondary Metal Ion Hydration" Inorganic Chemistry 1965, volume 4, 1555–1561. doi:10.1021/ic50033a006


  7. ^ D. Nicholls, Complexes and First-Row Transition Elements, Macmillan Press, London, 1973.


  8. ^ Brauer, Georg (1965) [1962]. Handbuch Der Präparativen Anorganischen Chemie [Handbook of Preparative Inorganic Chemistry] (in German). 2. Stuttgart; New York, New York: Ferdinand Enke Verlag; Academic Press, Inc. p. 1340. ISBN 978-0-32316129-9. Retrieved 2014-01-10. 


  9. ^ Philip Boudjouk, Jeung-Ho So (1992). "Solvated and Unsolvated Anhydrous Metal Chlorides from Metal Chloride Hydrates". Inorg. Synth. 29: 108–111. doi:10.1002/9780470132609.ch26. CS1 maint: Uses authors parameter (link)


  10. ^ Pray, A. P. "Anhydrous Metal Chlorides" Inorganic Syntheses, 1990, vol 28, 321–2. doi:10.1002/9780470132401.ch36


  11. ^ Philip Boudjouk, Jeung-Ho So "Solvated and Unsolvated Anhydrous Metal Chlorides from Metal Chloride Hydrates" Inorganic Syntheses, 2007, vol. 29, p. 108-111. doi:10.1002/9780470132609.ch26


  12. ^ John T. Dixon, Mike J. Green, Fiona M. Hess, David H. Morgan “Advances in selective ethylene trimerisation – a critical overview” Journal of Organometallic Chemistry 2004, Volume 689, pp 3641-3668. doi:10.1016/j.jorganchem.2004.06.008


  13. ^ Feng Zheng, Akella Sivaramakrishna, John R. Moss “Thermal studies on metallacycloalkanes” Coordination Chemistry Reviews 2007, Volume 251, 2056-2071. doi:10.1016/j.ccr.2007.04.008


  14. ^ Calvet, G.; Dussaussois, M.; Blanchard, N.; Kouklovsky, C. (2004). "Lewis Acid-Promoted Hetero Diels-Alder Cycloaddition of α-Acetoxynitroso Dienophiles". Organic Letters. 6 (14): 2449–2451. doi:10.1021/ol0491336. PMID 15228301. 


  15. ^ Thomas Gessner and Udo Mayer "Triarylmethane and Diarylmethane Dyes" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry 2002, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. doi:10.1002/14356007.a27_179



Further reading



  • Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 71st edition, CRC Press, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1990.


  • The Merck Index, 7th edition, Merck & Co, Rahway, New Jersey, USA, 1960.

  • J. March, Advanced Organic Chemistry, 4th ed., p. 723, Wiley, New York, 1992.

  • K. Takai, in Handbook of Reagents for Organic Synthesis, Volume 1: Reagents, Auxiliaries and Catalysts for C-C Bond Formation, (R. M. Coates, S. E. Denmark, eds.), pp. 206–211, Wiley, New York, 1999.


External links


Chromium(III) chloride

Chromium(III)-chloride-purple-anhydrous-sunlight.jpg
Anhydrous


Green form of chromium(III) chloride hexahydrate
Hexahydrate

Names

IUPAC names
Chromium(III) chloride
Chromium trichloride

Other names
Chromic chloride

Identifiers

CAS Number



  • 10025-73-7 ☑Y


  • 10060-12-5 (hexahydrate) ☒N



3D model (JSmol)


  • Interactive image


ChEBI


  • CHEBI:53351 ☑Y


ChEMBL


  • ChEMBL1200528 ☒N


ChemSpider


  • 4954736 ☑Y


ECHA InfoCard

100.030.023


PubChem CID


  • 6452300


RTECS number
GB5425000

UNII


  • Z310X5O5RP ☑Y





Properties

Chemical formula

CrCl3

Molar mass
158.36 g/mol (anhydrous)
266.45 g/mol (hexahydrate)[1]
Appearance
purple when anhydrous, dark green when hexahydrate

Density
2.87 g/cm3 (anhydrous)
1.760 g/cm3 (hexahydrate)

Melting point
1,152 °C (2,106 °F; 1,425 K) (anhydrous)
83 °C (hexahydrate)

Boiling point
1,300 °C (2,370 °F; 1,570 K) decomposes

Solubility in water

slightly soluble (anhydrous)
585 g/L (hexahydrate)

Solubility
insoluble in ethanol
insoluble in ether, acetone

Acidity (pKa)
2.4 (0.2M solution)


Magnetic susceptibility (χ)

+6890.0·10−6 cm3/mol
Structure

Crystal structure


YCl3 structure

Coordination geometry


Octahedral
Hazards

Safety data sheet

ICSC 1316 (anhydrous)
ICSC 1532 (hexahydrate)


EU classification (DSD) (outdated)

Not listed

NFPA 704



Flammability code 0: Will not burn. E.g., waterHealth code 2: Intense or continued but not chronic exposure could cause temporary incapacitation or possible residual injury. E.g., chloroformReactivity code 0: Normally stable, even under fire exposure conditions, and is not reactive with water. E.g., liquid nitrogenSpecial hazards (white): no codeNFPA 704 four-colored diamond

0


2


0




Flash point
Non-flammable
Lethal dose or concentration (LD, LC):


LD50 (median dose)

1870 mg/kg (oral, rat)[3]
US health exposure limits (NIOSH):


PEL (Permissible)

TWA 1 mg/m3[2]


REL (Recommended)

TWA 0.5 mg/m3[2]


IDLH (Immediate danger)

250 mg/m3[2]
Related compounds

Other anions


Chromium(III) fluoride
Chromium(III) bromide
Chromium(III) iodide

Other cations


Molybdenum(III) chloride
Tungsten(III) chloride

Related compounds


Chromium(II) chloride
Chromium(IV) chloride

Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).


☒N verify (what is ☑Y☒N ?)

Infobox references





  • International Chemical Safety Card 1316 (anhydr. CrCl3)


  • International Chemical Safety Card 1532 (CrCl3·6H2O)

  • National Pollutant Inventory – Chromium (III) compounds fact sheet

  • NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards

  • IARC Monograph "Chromium and Chromium compounds"






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