Aluminum chloride, also called aluminum chloride, is a salt of two compounds at once - hydrochloric acid, as well as aluminum itself. Aluminum chloride has the chemical formula AlCl3. Sublimation of the compound occurs at a temperature of 183 ° C - this is if the pressure is normal. With increasing pressure, the substance begins to melt already at a temperature of 192.6 ° C.
As a rule, aluminum chloride is highly soluble in aqueous solutions; complete dissolution of 44.38 grams of the substance occurs in a stogram volume of water at a temperature of 25 ° C. During hydrolysis, smoke occurs in moist air with the release of HCl. In the anhydrous state, aluminum chloride in appearance is a colorless single crystal, which at a temperature of up to 440 ° C acquires the properties of a dimer - it turns into liquid or vapor. When the temperature rises to 800-1000 ° C, the substance is a stable monomer.
The most important method for preparing the compound is the effect of Cl2 and CO on anhydrous bauxite and kaolin. Such a reaction is carried out in industrial production in special shaft- type furnaces . There are other methods of production, for example, the interaction of boron trichloride with aluminum phosphide during the reaction, carried out at a temperature of 900 ° C, leads to the formation of aluminum chloride. All reactions associated with the preparation of the compound are carried out with the participation of a reducing agent, which is carbon.
Anhydrous aluminum chloride interacts with many organic and inorganic substances. With inorganic products, it forms adducts such as NH3. With organic aluminum chloride forms acid chlorides, as well as a variety of esters.
Crystallization from aqueous solutions leads to a yellowish-white substance, which in the open air becomes fluid, this is aluminum chloride hexahydrate.
Aluminum chloride is an indispensable catalyst in the implementation of organic synthesis, an example of this is its use in Friedel-Crafts operations. It acts as an intermediate in hydrolysis for the isolation of A1 from alloys and the production of ultra-pure A1. The use of hexahydrate, as well as its solutions, is widespread in woodworking, water treatment technologies.
Since aluminum chloride is widely used in the industrial segment of the economy, its annual production in the world is constantly growing and currently amounts to approximately 200 thousand tons.
Currently, aluminum chloride is most in demand in areas such as pharmaceuticals and perfumes. This substance is widely used in the manufacture of drugs that counteract hyperhidrosis - excessive sweating of the body. Its derivative - aluminum chloride, Etiaxil hexahydrate - is used as a necessary basis for the production of deodorants and antiperspirants. In its pure form, this substance is a colorless crystal, and its chemical formula is written as H12AlCl3O6. Use in this capacity should be accompanied by extreme caution, since the cause of hyperhidrosis can be a variety of factors: nervous and endocrine disorders, kidney disease and others. In this case, you should not thoughtlessly purchase and use everything that contains Etiaxil hexahydrate, although what did not help in one case will help in the other. The fact is that in all these agents a variety of combinations of hexahydrate combinations with other components can be used.
In order to get the expected effect from the use of drugs and products containing Etiaxil, you must accurately select them, taking into account the characteristics of each skin type and the degree of manifestation of sweating.