Boron trichloride

Boron trichloride is the inorganic compound with the formula BCl₃. This colorless gas is a valuable reagent in organic synthesis. It is highly reactive toward water.

Production and structure

Boron reacts with halogens to give the corresponding trihalides. Boron trichloride is, however, produced industrially by direct chlorination of boron oxide and carbon at 500 °C.

The carbothermic reaction is analogous to the Kroll process for the conversion of titanium dioxide to titanium tetrachloride. In the laboratory BF₃ reacted with AlCl₃ gives BCl₃ via halogen exchange. BCl₃ is a trigonal planar molecule like the other boron trihalides, and has a bond length of 175pm.

A degree of π-bonding has been proposed to explain the short B− Cl distance although there is some debate as to its extent. It does not dimerize, although NMR studies of mixtures of boron trihalides shows the presence of mixed halides. The absence of dimerisation contrasts with the tendencies of AlCl₃ and GaCl₃, which form dimers or polymers with 4 or 6 coordinate metal centres.