Indium Blog

Gallium III Chloride

Category:
  • Gallium

  • 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