name Melanie D.
status educator
age 20s
Question - Is Aluminum chloride a molecular compound or an ionic
compound? Does it have a trigonal planar geometry like Boron trichloride
or is it just ionic?
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In the solid phase aluminum chloride is an ionic compound; however, in the
vapor phase it is a dimer Al2Cl6 in which the two aluminum atoms are
bridged by two Cl atoms. Like many metal salts the molecular structure
depends upon the physical state of the substance.
Vince Calder
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