Iron (III) chloride

 

Iron (III) chloride
aka ferric chloride

Chemical formula	FeCl3
OTP appearance	yellow/green/red solid
Molar Mass(g/mol)	262.204
Density(g/cc)	2.9
Melting Point(°C)	307.6
Boiling Point(°C)	316(decomp)
Solubility in water(g/L)	912
NFPA 704	0 2 0

Uses

Justification Questioned

Other

• Chlorinating agent
• Strong lewis acid
• Etchant for copper: FeCl₃(d) + Cu(s)
  {H₂O,HCl

  →

  }
  FeCl₂(d) + CuCl(d)

Natural occurrence

• Does occur naturally as the mineral molysite

Production

Synthesis

from magnetite

• Combine magnetite with hydrochloric acid producing a mixture of iron (II) chloride and iron (III) chloride, and water.

  Fe₃O₄(s) + 8 HCl(aq) → FeCl₂(aq) + 2 FeCl₃(aq) + 4 H₂O(l)

from iron (II) chloride

via chlorine

• Directly combine iron (II) chloride with chlorine gas. Ultraviolet light can help here.

  2 FeCl₂(aq) + Cl₂(g)

  {

  →

  hv}

  2 FeCl₃(aq)

via oxygen and HCl

• In a similar fashion to the production of copper (II) chloride, oxidize iron (II) chloride with oxygen and hydrochloric acid.

  4 FeCl₂(aq) + O₂ + 4 HCl → 4 FeCl₃(aq) + 2 H₂O