Chlorides -common anduseful … like salt, NaCl.
Consider one ofthe more unusual and reactive salts: Gallium Trichloride
GaCl3:
- an anhydrous solid at room temperature
- melts at 77.9°C where it transforms to a colourless liquid
- extremely reactive and corrosive
- reacts quickly with moisture
Where is it used?
Semiconductors – by far the largest application,with GaCl3a pre-cursormakingTri-methyl Gallium (TMG)for MOCVDepitaxy to formcomplex layers on semiconductorwafersfor LED's and power electronics used in communications due to their increased capability.
LiSOCl2 batteries– used in numerous applications. With the addition of GaCl3 these batteries exhibitimproved properties for harsh and high-temperature environments, like oil drilling where they can be used to steer the drill heads.
Catalysts – a niche area but one where the GaCl3 acts as a Lewis acid for the formation of C-C bonds, polymerisationof olefins or in Friedel-Crafts alkylation andacylation reactions.
Indium Corporation has extensive knowledge of these markets, manufacturing specialised high-purity GaCl3suitablefor the the above applications, particularlyas unique EZ-Pour® free-flowinggranules.
EZ-Pour granules
