Rhodium(III) chloride refers to
inorganic compound
In chemistry, an inorganic compound is typically a chemical compound that lacks carbon–hydrogen bonds, that is, a compound that is not an organic compound. The study of inorganic compounds is a subfield of chemistry known as '' inorganic chemi ...
s with the formula RhCl
3(H
2O)
''n'', where ''n'' varies from 0 to 3. These are diamagnetic solids featuring octahedral Rh(III) centres. Depending on the value of ''n'', the material is either a dense brown solid or a soluble reddish salt. The soluble trihydrated (n = 3) salt is widely used to prepare compounds used in
homogeneous catalysis
In chemistry, homogeneous catalysis is catalysis by a soluble catalyst in a solution. Homogeneous catalysis refers to reactions where the catalyst is in the same phase as the reactants, principally in solution. In contrast, heterogeneous catalysi ...
, notably for the industrial production of
acetic acid
Acetic acid , systematically named ethanoic acid , is an acidic, colourless liquid and organic compound with the chemical formula (also written as , , or ). Vinegar is at least 4% acetic acid by volume, making acetic acid the main componen ...
and
hydroformylation
Hydroformylation, also known as oxo synthesis or oxo process, is an industrial process for the production of aldehydes from alkenes. This chemical reaction entails the net addition of a formyl group (CHO) and a hydrogen atom to a carbon-carbon d ...
.
Structures
Aqueous solutions of RhCl
3(H
2O)
3 have been characterized by
103Rh
NMR spectroscopy
Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, most commonly known as NMR spectroscopy or magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), is a spectroscopic technique to observe local magnetic fields around atomic nuclei. The sample is placed in a magnetic fiel ...
, which shows the presence of several species. The proportions of which change with time and depend on the concentration of chloride. The relative distribution of these species determines the colour of the solutions, which can range from yellow (the hexaaquo ion) to "raspberry-red". Some of these species are
2O)6">h(H2O)6sup>3+,
2O)5">hCl(H2O)5sup>2+,
''cis''- and
''trans''-
2(H2O)4">hCl2(H2O)4sup>+, and
3(H2O)3">hCl3(H2O)3 Individual ions have been separated by ion exchange chromatography.
Anhydrous rhodium chloride crystallises in the
YCl3 and
AlCl3 motif (see image in upper right). The metal centres are octahedral, and the halides are doubly bridging.
It is a dense brown solid that is insoluble in common solvents and of little value in the laboratory.
Preparation
RhCl
3(H
2O)
3 is produced from salts such as Na
3RhCl
6, the latter being obtained in the purification of rhodium from the other
platinum group metals such as platinum and iridium. The sodium salt is converted to H
3RhCl
6 by
ion exchange chromatography
Ion chromatography (or ion-exchange chromatography) separates ions and polar molecules based on their affinity to the ion exchanger. It works on almost any kind of charged molecule—including large proteins, small nucleotides, and amino ...
.
Recrystallization of this acidic salt from water affords the hydrated trichloride, sometimes called "soluble rhodium trichloride."
Anhydrous RhCl
3 is prepared by reaction of
chlorine
Chlorine is a chemical element with the symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate between them. Chlorine is ...
with rhodium
sponge metal
Regular foamed aluminium
A metal foam is a cellular structure consisting of a solid metal (frequently aluminium) with gas-filled pores comprising a large portion of the volume. The pores can be sealed (closed-cell foam) or interconnected (ope ...
at 200–300 °C. Above 800 °C, the anhydrous chloride reverts to Rh metal and chlorine.
[
Various rhodium chloride complexes are intermediates in the purification of rhodium from its ores.
]
Coordination complexes
RhCl3(H2O)3 is the precursor to a wide variety of complexes, some of which are commercially useful. It reacts with acetylacetone to give rhodium acetylacetonate
Rhodium acetylacetonate is the coordination complex with the formula , which is sometimes known as Rh(acac)3. The molecule has D3-symmetry. It is a yellow-orange solid that is soluble in organic solvents.
It is prepared from RhCl3(H2O)3 and a ...
.
Amines and pyridine
Solutions of RhCl3(H2O)3 react with ammonia in the presence of alcohol to give the salt pentamminerhodium chloride
Pentamminechlororhodium dichloride is the dichloride salt of the coordination complex . It is a yellow, water-soluble solid. The salt is an intermediate in the purification of rhodium from its ores.
As shown by X-ray crystallography, the salt co ...
, 3)5">hCl(NH3)5l2. Zinc
Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic t ...
reduction of this cation followed by the addition of sulfate
The sulfate or sulphate ion is a polyatomic ion, polyatomic anion with the empirical formula . Salts, acid derivatives, and peroxides of sulfate are widely used in industry. Sulfates occur widely in everyday life. Sulfates are salt (chemistry), ...
gives the colourless hydride complex 3)5">Rh(NH3)5O4.
Upon boiling in a mixture of ethanol and pyridine
Pyridine is a basic (chemistry), basic heterocyclic compound, heterocyclic organic compound with the chemical formula . It is structurally related to benzene, with one methine group replaced by a nitrogen atom. It is a highly flammable, weakl ...
(py), hydrated rhodium trichloride converts to ''trans''- 2(py)4)l">hCl2(py)4)l. In the absence of a reductant, the reaction affords '' fac''- 3(py)3">hCl3(py)3 analogous to the thioether derivatives.[ Oxidation of aqueous ethanolic solution of pyridine and RhCl3(H2O)3 by air affords a blue ]paramagnetic
Paramagnetism is a form of magnetism whereby some materials are weakly attracted by an externally applied magnetic field, and form internal, induced magnetic fields in the direction of the applied magnetic field. In contrast with this behavior, ...
oxygen-bridged compound,
Thioethers and tertiary phosphines
Ethanol
Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl group linked to a h ...
ic solutions of hydrated rhodium trichloride react with dialkyl sulfides.
:RhCl3(H2O)3 + 3 SR2 -> ce/chem> RhCl3(SR2)3 + 3 H2O
Both ''fac'' and ''mer'' stereoisomer
In stereochemistry, stereoisomerism, or spatial isomerism, is a form of isomerism in which molecules have the same molecular formula and sequence of bonded atoms (constitution), but differ in the three-dimensional orientations of their atoms i ...
s of such compounds have been isolated.[
Reaction of RhCl3(H2O)3 under mild conditions with tertiary phosphines affords adducts akin to the aforementioned thioether complexes. When these reactions are conducted in boiling ethanol solution, reduction of rhodium(III) occurs, leading to rhodium(I) derivatives such as 3)3">hCl(PPh3)3 ]Wilkinson's catalyst
Wilkinson's catalyst is the common name for chloridotris(triphenylphosphine)rhodium(I), a coordination complex of rhodium with the formula hCl(PPh3)3(Ph = phenyl). It is a red-brown colored solid that is soluble in hydrocarbon solvents such as ...
, with oxidation of the solvent or more commonly with an excess of the phosphine:
::RhCl3(H2O)3 + 3 PPh3 + CH3CH2OH -> ce \text/chem> RhCl(PPh3)3 + CH3CHO + 2 HCl + 3 H2O
::RhCl3(H2O)3 + 4 PPh3 -> ce \text/chem> RhCl(PPh3)3 + OPPh3 + 2 HCl + 2 H2O
Alkenes and carbon monoxide
Reaction of RhCl3(H2O)3 with olefins affords compounds of the type Rh2Cl2(alkene)4. With 1,5-cyclooctadiene, RhCl3(H2O)3 react in ethanol to give cyclooctadiene rhodium chloride dimer
Cyclooctadiene rhodium chloride dimer is the organorhodium compound with the formula Rh2Cl2(C8H12)2, commonly abbreviated hCl(COD)sub>2 or Rh2Cl2(COD)2. This yellow-orange, air-stable compound is a widely used precursor to homogeneous catalysts. ...
.
RhCl3(H2O)3 in methanol reacts with carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide ( chemical formula CO) is a colorless, poisonous, odorless, tasteless, flammable gas that is slightly less dense than air. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. It is the si ...
(1 bar) to produce H 2(CO)2">hCl2(CO)2 which contains the dicarbonyldichloridorhodate(I) anion; further carbonylation in the presence of sodium citrate Sodium citrate may refer to any of the sodium salts of citric acid (though most commonly the third):
* Monosodium citrate
* Disodium citrate
* Trisodium citrate
The three forms of salt are collectively known by the E number E331.
Applications
...
leads to the formation of tetrarhodium dodecacarbonyl, Rh4(CO)12, a rhodium(0) cluster compound. Treatment of solid RhCl3(H2O)3 with flowing CO gives the dimeric rhodium(I) compoundrhodium carbonyl chloride
Rhodium carbonyl chloride is an organorhodium compound with the formula Rh2Cl2(CO)4. It is a red-brown volatile solid that is soluble in nonpolar organic solvents. It is a precursor to other rhodium carbonyl complexes, some of which are useful in ...
, 2Rh(μ-Cl)">CO)2Rh(μ-Cl)sub>2.
Numerous Rh-CO-PR3 (R = organic group) compounds have been prepared in the course of extensive investigations on hydroformylation
Hydroformylation, also known as oxo synthesis or oxo process, is an industrial process for the production of aldehydes from alkenes. This chemical reaction entails the net addition of a formyl group (CHO) and a hydrogen atom to a carbon-carbon d ...
catalysis. RhCl(PPh3)3 reacts with CO to give ''trans
Trans- is a Latin prefix meaning "across", "beyond", or "on the other side of".
Used alone, trans may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Trans (festival), a former festival in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
* ''Trans'' (fil ...
''-RhCl(CO)(PPh3)2, stoichiometrically analogous to but less reactive than Vaska's complex
Vaska's complex is the trivial name for the chemical compound ''trans''-carbonylchlorobis(triphenylphosphine)iridium(I), which has the formula IrCl(CO) (C6H5)3sub>2. This square planar diamagnetic organometallic complex consists of a central iri ...
. ''Trans''-RhCl(CO)(PPh3)2 reacts with a mixture of NaBH4 and PPh3 to give HRh(CO)(PPh3)3, a highly active catalyst for hydroformylation of alkenes.[
When treated with ]cyclopentadiene
Cyclopentadiene is an organic compound with the formula C5H6.LeRoy H. Scharpen and Victor W. Laurie (1965): "Structure of cyclopentadiene". ''The Journal of Chemical Physics'', volume 43, issue 8, pages 2765-2766. It is often abbreviated CpH beca ...
s or its derivatives, organometallic
Organometallic chemistry is the study of organometallic compounds, chemical compounds containing at least one chemical bond between a carbon atom of an organic molecule and a metal, including alkali, alkaline earth, and transition metals, and ...
half sandwich compound
Half sandwich compounds, also known as piano stool complexes, are organometallic complexes that feature a cyclic polyhapto ligand bound to an MLn center, where L is a unidentate ligand. Thousands of such complexes are known. Well-known examples in ...
s can be produced. For example, reacting the trihydrate with pentamethylcyclopentadiene
1,2,3,4,5-Pentamethylcyclopentadiene is a cyclic diene with the formula C5Me5H (Me = CH3). 1,2,3,4,5-Pentamethylcyclopentadiene is the precursor to the ligand ''1,2,3,4,5-pentamethylcyclopentadienyl'', which is often denoted Cp* (C5Me5) and read ...
(Cp*H) in hot methanol leads to the precipitation of the pentamethylcyclopentadienyl rhodium dichloride dimer
Pentamethylcyclopentadienyl rhodium dichloride dimer is an organometallic compound with the formula C5(CH3)5RhCl2)sub>2, commonly abbreviated p*RhCl2sub>2 This dark red air-stable diamagnetic solid is a reagent in organometallic chemistry.
St ...
, 2">p*RhCl2sub>2:
:2 Cp*H + 2 RhCl3(H2O)3 -> ce \text/chem> 2">p*RhCl2sub>2 + 2 HCl + 6 H2O
This compound was first prepared from hexamethyl Dewar benzene
Dewar benzene (also spelled ''dewarbenzene'') or bicyclo .2.0exa-2,5-diene is a bicyclic isomer of benzene with the molecular formula C6H6. The compound is named after James Dewar who included this structure in a list of possible C6H6 structures in ...
and RhCl3(H2O)3. The hydrohalic acid necessary for the ring-contraction rearrangement is generated ''in situ
''In situ'' (; often not italicized in English) is a Latin phrase that translates literally to "on site" or "in position." It can mean "locally", "on site", "on the premises", or "in place" to describe where an event takes place and is used in ...
'' in methanolic solutions of the rhodium salt, and the second step has been carried out separately, confirming this mechanistic description. The reaction occurs with the formation of 1,1-dimethoxyethane, CH3CH(OCH3)2, and hexamethylbenzene
Hexamethylbenzene, also known as mellitene, is a hydrocarbon with the molecular formula C12H18 and the condensed structural formula C6(CH3)6. It is an aromatic compound and a derivative of benzene, where benzene's six hydrogen atoms have each ...
is produced by a side reaction
A side reaction is a chemical reaction that occurs at the same time as the actual main reaction, but to a lesser extent. It leads to the formation of by-product, so that the yield of main product is reduced:
: + B ->[] P1
: + C ->[] P2
P1 is th ...
. This rhodium(III) dimer can be reduced with zinc in the presence of CO to produce the rhodium(I) complex 2">p*Rh(CO)2
Catalysis
Beginning especially in the 1960s, RhCl3(H2O)3 was demonstrated to be catalytically active for a variety of reactions involving CO, H2, and alkene
In organic chemistry, an alkene is a hydrocarbon containing a carbon–carbon double bond.
Alkene is often used as synonym of olefin, that is, any hydrocarbon containing one or more double bonds.H. Stephen Stoker (2015): General, Organic, an ...
s.[ For example, RhCl3(H2O)3 was shown to dimerise ]ethene
Ethylene (IUPAC name: ethene) is a hydrocarbon which has the formula or . It is a colourless, flammable gas with a faint "sweet and musky" odour when pure. It is the simplest alkene (a hydrocarbon with carbon-carbon double bonds).
Ethylene is ...
to a mixture of ''cis'' and ''trans'' 2-butene
But-2-ene is an acyclic alkene with four carbon atoms. It is the simplest alkene exhibiting ''cis''/''trans''-isomerism (also known as (''E''/''Z'')-isomerism); that is, it exists as two geometric isomers ''cis''-but-2-ene ((''Z'')-but-2-ene) and ...
:
:2 C2H4 -> ce/chem> CH3-CH=CH-CH3
Unfortunately this reaction fails for higher alkenes.
Ethylene dimerization was shown to involve catalysis by the dimeric rhodium(I) compound [(η2-C2H4)2Rh(μ-Cl)2Rh(η2-C2H4)2]. This and many related discoveries nurtured the then young field of homogeneous catalysis, wherein the catalysts are dissolved in the medium with the substrate. Previous to this era, most metal catalysts were "heterogeneous", i.e. the catalysts were solids and the substrates were either liquid or gases. Another advance in homogeneous catalysis was the finding that 3">triphenylphosphine, PPh3-derived complexes were active catalytically as well as soluble in organic solvents, the best known such catalyst being Wilkinson's catalyst that catalyzes the hydrogenation
Hydrogenation is a chemical reaction between molecular hydrogen (H2) and another compound or element, usually in the presence of a catalyst such as nickel, palladium or platinum. The process is commonly employed to reduce or saturate org ...
and isomerization of alkenes. The hydroformylation of alkenes is catalyzed by the related RhH(CO)(PPh3)3. Catalysis by rhodium is so efficient that it has significantly displaced the previous technology based on less expensive cobalt catalysts.
Safety
Rhodium(III) chloride is not listed under Annex I of Directive 67/548/EEC
The Dangerous Substances Directive (as amended) was one of the main European Union laws concerning chemical safety, until its full replacement by the new regulation CLP Regulation (2008), starting in 2016. It was made under Article 100 (Art. 94 i ...
, but is usually classified as ''harmful'', R22: ''Harmful if swallowed''. Some Rh compounds have been investigated as anti-cancer drug
Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs ( chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemoth ...
s. It is listed in the inventory of the Toxic Substances Control Act
The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is a United States law, passed by the 94th United States Congress in 1976 and administered by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), that regulates chemicals not regulated by other U.S. ...
(TSCA).
References
External links
International Chemical Safety Card 0746
{{Chlorides
Chlorides
Platinum group halides
Rhodium(III) compounds