Chlorides - common and useful ... like salt, NaCl.
Consider one of the 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 GaCl3 a pre-cursor making Tri-methyl Gallium (TMG) for MOCVD epitaxy to form complex layers on semiconductor wafers for 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 exhibit improved 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, polymerisation of olefins or in Friedel-Crafts alkylation and acylation reactions.
Indium Corporation has extensive knowledge of these markets, manufacturing specialised high-purity GaCl3 suitable for the the above applications, particularly as unique EZ-Pour® free-flowing granules.
EZ-Pour granules