Indium(III) bromide, (indium tribromide), InBr
3, is a chemical compound of
indium
Indium is a chemical element with the symbol In and atomic number 49. Indium is the softest metal that is not an alkali metal. It is a silvery-white metal that resembles tin in appearance. It is a post-transition metal that makes up 0.21 parts ...
and
bromine
Bromine is a chemical element with the symbol Br and atomic number 35. It is the third-lightest element in group 17 of the periodic table ( halogens) and is a volatile red-brown liquid at room temperature that evaporates readily to form a simi ...
. It is a
Lewis acid and has been used in organic synthesis.
Structure
It has the same crystal structure as
aluminium trichloride
Aluminium chloride, also known as aluminium trichloride, is an inorganic compound with the formula . It forms hexahydrate with the formula , containing six water molecules of hydration. Both are colourless crystals, but samples are often conta ...
, with 6 coordinate indium atoms.
["Indium: Inorganic chemistry", D.G Tuck, ''Encyclopedia of Inorganic Chemistry'' Editor R Bruce King (1994) John Wiley and Sons ] When molten it is dimeric, In
2Br
6, and it is predominantly dimeric in the gas phase. The dimer has bridging bromine atoms with a structure similar to dimeric
aluminium trichloride
Aluminium chloride, also known as aluminium trichloride, is an inorganic compound with the formula . It forms hexahydrate with the formula , containing six water molecules of hydration. Both are colourless crystals, but samples are often conta ...
Al
2Cl
6.
Preparation and reactions
It is formed by the reaction of indium and bromine.
[Egon Wiberg, Arnold Frederick Holleman (2001) ''Inorganic Chemistry'', Elsevier ]
InBr
3 forms complexes with
ligand
In coordination chemistry, a ligand is an ion or molecule ( functional group) that binds to a central metal atom to form a coordination complex. The bonding with the metal generally involves formal donation of one or more of the ligand's elec ...
s, L, InBr
3L, InBr
3L
2, InBr
3L
3.
Reaction with indium metal forms lower valent indium bromides, InBr
2, In
4Br
7, In
2Br
3, In
5Br
7, In
7Br
9,
indium(I) bromide.
In refluxing xylene solution InBr
3 and In metal react to form InBr
2.
References
External links
Indium tribromide at WebElements
Indium compounds
Bromides
Metal halides
{{Inorganic-compound-stub