Question
Question: Why is \( AlC{l_3} \) soluble in water?...
Why is AlCl3 soluble in water?
Solution
Hint : AlCl3 is called aluminium chloride or aluminium trichloride with molar mass 133.34 g/mol. The crystalline structure of AlCl3 is monoclinic. Aluminium chloride is a fantastic catalyst and can carry several reactions. Aluminium chloride is an inorganic solute and is soluble in inorganic solvents only, like dissolve like.
Complete Step By Step Answer:
Aluminium chloride is an inorganic solute in nature and by the law of nature that dissolves like this making it soluble in inorganic solvents like water.
The reaction of aluminium chloride in water is as follows: -
AlCl3+3H2O→Al(OH)3+3HCl
Aluminium chloride is a lewis acid and is used as catalyst in several reactions like in Friedel craft alkylation, Friedel craft acylation, meerwein ponndorf verley reduction, and many more. Aluminium chloride acts as a catalyst because it is a lewis acid and is capable of accepting lone pairs of electrons to form an intermediate and leads to formation of the products.
Water is a universal solvent. Water is widely used in chemistry for various reactions like in electron driven molecules, aluminium iodide is synthesized in presences of water only.
Note :
It is to remember that for solubility of any complex into a solvent, the nature of both solute and solvent plays a vital role. Organic solutes are always soluble in organic solvents and inorganic solutes are soluble in inorganic solvent. Thus for the solubility of a complex into a solvent, nature is to remember. The solubility is the degree of mixing of one component into another.