Can I prepare Aluminum chloride (hexahydrate) solution frm Aluminum chloride powder?

guyat35

Is it possible to prepare Aluminum chloride (hexahydrate) solution(15%) from Aluminum chloride powder (ANHYDROUS)? I need it only in small quentities ie. 100ml.
Please help.

Lok

Just add water, stirr, a bit of heat would help but not too much.

Seriously water plus AlCl3 is a very powerful almost explosive reaction, lots of heat comes out of it. So you will have to add the water carefully. A simple method is take your AlCl3 and leave it out in the open for a few days, it will absorb ambient humidity and then adding more water will be by far less explosive. Or add water with a steam bath. Easy to build, take a pot with a lid add hot water in it, and place your AlCl3 in a cup so that it does not get wet or floats, close the lid and wait for a bit.

chemisttree

... or just leave it out in the moist air. Takes longer. Not as exciting.

guyat35

Thanks for the help. I think adding water to AlCl3 will give me Aluminum chloride (hexahydrate) in white crystal form. But how can make a 15% solution of Aluminum chloride (hexahydrate)? Adding Alcohol? Is it the right way? plz help

Lok

Alcohol is for later... evenings in pubs.

All you need to do is (assuming that the 15% is in mass percentage) add 15g of AlCl3hexa to 85g of water. The result will be 15%, but I cannot guarantee that you will end up with 100ml, rather close to that anyway.

If the solution should be in alcohol, there should be some mention of that in the formula. The same goes with the percentage for alcohol 85 g, and still no telling how close the volume will be.

lightarrow

To get AlCl₃*6H₂O from AlCl₃ it's better if you use dilute HCl, instead of water.