In situ study of the interaction between tert-butyl chloride and aluminum activated with liquid In-Ga eutectic

Abstract

The interaction between tert-butyl chloride and activated aluminum was studied by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy near room temperature (18–25°C). A long induction period of ∼240–260 min was observed. The ionic aluminum chloride complexes [Al n Cl3n+1]− (n = 1, 2) and the molecular species AlCl3 were identified at the activated aluminum/tert-butyl chloride interface during the reaction. The formation of the ion in the AlCl 4 − ion in the liquid medium and the presence of the same ion and a molecular AlCl3-tert-butyl chloride complex in the resinous products of the reaction were confirmed by 27Al NMR spectroscopy. The reaction products were analyzed qualitatively by GC/MS. The reactivities of activated aluminum and anhydrous aluminum chloride toward tert-butyl chloride under the same conditions were compared. A distinctive feature of the interaction activated aluminum and tert-butyl chloride is the dominant formation of the AlCl 4 − ion. By contrast, the interaction between aluminum chloride and tert-butyl chloride yields the polynuclear ion Al2Cl 7 − and, likely, Al3Cl 10 − .