Indium(III) chloride

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Indium(III) chloride
Other names Indium Chloride
Identifiers
CAS number [10025-82-8]
Properties
Molecular formula Cl3In
Molar mass 221.18 g/mol
Appearance small red circles
Density 3.46 g/cm³, solid
Melting point

586 °C
Boiling point

800 °C
(sublimes 498 °C
in a vacuum)
Solubility in water soluble, exothermic
Solubility in other solvents THF
Hazards
EU classification not listed
NFPA 704
0
2
0
 
Except where noted otherwise, data are given for
materials in their standard state
(at 25 °C, 100 kPa)
Infobox disclaimer and references

Indium(III) chloride is the chemical compound with the formula InCl3. This colorless salt finds some use in organic synthesis as a Lewis acid. It is also the most available soluble derivatives of indium.[1]

[edit] Synthesis and structure

Being a relatively electropositive metal, indium reacts readily with chlorine to give the trichloride. A synthesis has been reported using an electrochemical cell in a mixed methanol-benzene solution.[2]

Like AlCl3 and TlCl3, InCl3 crystallizes as a layered structure consisting of close-packed chloride arrangement containing layers of In(III) centers. The motif is akin to that seen for YCl3.[3] In contrast, GaCl3 and InI3 crystallize as dimers containing Ga2Cl6 and In2I6 subunits, respectively.


[edit] Catalyst in chemistry

Indium chloride is a lewis acid catalyst in organic reactions such as Friedel-Crafts acylations and Diels-Alder reactions. As an example of the latter[4] The reaction proceeds at room temperature, with 1 mole% catalyst loading in an acetonitrile-water solvent mixture. The first step is a Knoevenagel condensation between the barbituric acid and the aldehyde, the second step is a reverse electron-demand Diels-Alder reaction.

Indium chloride application, reaction product is mixture of cis-trans isomers

which is a multicomponent reaction of N.N'-dimethyl-barbituric acid, benzaldehyde and ethyl vinyl ether. With catalyst the reported chemical yield is 90% and the percentage trans isomer is 70%. Without the catalyst added the yield drops to 65% with 50% trans product.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Araki, S.; Hirashita, T. "Indium trichloride" in Encyclopedia of Reagents for Organic Synthesis (Ed: L. Paquette) 2004, J. Wiley & Sons, New York. DOI: 10.1002/047084289.
  2. ^ Habeeb, J. J.; Tuck, D. G. "Electrochemical Synthesis of Indium(III) Complexes" Inorganic Syntheses, 1979, volume XIX, ISBN 0-471-04542-X
  3. ^ Wells, A.F. Structural Inorganic Chemistry, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1984. ISBN 0-19-855370-6.
  4. ^ An efficient synthesis of novel pyrano[2,3-d]- and furopyrano[2,3-d]pyrimidines via Indium-Catalyzed Multicomponent Domino Reaction Prajapati, D. Mukut Gohain, M. Journal of Organic Chemistry 2006, 2:11 doi:10.1186/1860-5397-2-11