Question

In the gas phase, aluminum chloride exists as a dimer (a unit of two) with the formula al2cl6. Its skeletal structure is given by

Answer 1

Answer:

In the gas phase, aluminum chloride exists as a dimer (Molecular formula of Al2Cl6).

In every unit of the compound, i.e., AlCl3, the aluminium atoms form 3 sp2 hybridised bonds with the 3 Cl atoms. However, the AlCl3 species are electron deficient. For the completion of their octet, they need to dimerise and form the dimer, Al2Cl6 as follows: