Tetrachloroferrate is the
polyatomic ion
A polyatomic ion, also known as a molecular ion, is a covalent bonded set of two or more atoms, or of a metal complex, that can be considered to behave as a single unit and that has a net charge that is not zero. The term molecule may or may not ...
having
chemical formula
In chemistry, a chemical formula is a way of presenting information about the chemical proportions of atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound or molecule, using chemical element symbols, numbers, and sometimes also other symbols, ...
. The
metallate Metallate or metalate is the name given to any complex anion containing a metal ligated to several atoms or small groups.
Typically, the metal will be one of the transition elements and the ligand will be oxygen or another chalcogenide or a cyanide ...
can be formed when
ferric chloride
Iron(III) chloride is the inorganic compound with the formula . Also called ferric chloride, it is a common compound of iron in the +3 oxidation state. The anhydrous compound is a crystalline solid with a melting point of 307.6 °C. The colo ...
() abstracts a
chloride
The chloride ion is the anion (negatively charged ion) Cl−. It is formed when the element chlorine (a halogen) gains an electron or when a compound such as hydrogen chloride is dissolved in water or other polar solvents. Chloride salts ...
ion from various other chloride salts. The resulting tetrachloroferrate salts are typically soluble in non-polar solvents. The tetrachloroferrate
anion
An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge.
The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...
, with
iron(III)
In chemistry, iron(III) refers to the chemical element, element iron in its +3 oxidation number, oxidation state. In salt (chemistry), ionic compounds (salts), such an atom may occur as a separate cation (positive ion) denoted by Fe3+.
The adjec ...
in the center, has
tetrahedral geometry
In a tetrahedral molecular geometry, a central atom is located at the center with four substituents that are located at the corners of a tetrahedron. The bond angles are cos−1(−) = 109.4712206...° ≈ 109.5° when all four substituents are ...
. It is useful as a
non-coordinating anion
Anions that interact weakly with cations are termed non-coordinating anions, although a more accurate term is weakly coordinating anion. Non-coordinating anions are useful in studying the reactivity of electrophilic cations. They are commonly found ...
comparable to
perchlorate
A perchlorate is a chemical compound containing the perchlorate ion, . The majority of perchlorates are commercially produced salts. They are mainly used as oxidizers for pyrotechnic devices and to control static electricity in food packaging. Per ...
. Several organo
ammonium
The ammonium cation is a positively-charged polyatomic ion with the chemical formula or . It is formed by the protonation of ammonia (). Ammonium is also a general name for positively charged or protonated substituted amines and quaternary a ...
salts have been studied for their novel material properties.
1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrachloroferrate
1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrachloroferrate is a magnetic ionic liquid. It can be obtained from 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride and ferric chloride. It has quite low water solubility.
Due to the presence of the high spin FeCl4 anion, the ...
is one of several
ionic liquid
An ionic liquid (IL) is a salt in the liquid state. In some contexts, the term has been restricted to salts whose melting point is below a specific temperature, such as . While ordinary liquids such as water and gasoline are predominantly made of ...
s that are magnetic. Trimethylchloromethylammonium tetrachloroferrate is a plastic crystal that can behave as a
molecular switch
A molecular switch is a molecule that can be reversibly shifted between two or more stable states. The molecules may be shifted between the states in response to environmental stimuli, such as changes in pH, light, temperature, an electric curren ...
in response to several different types of inputs.
References
External links
*
Chlorometallates
category:Ferrates
Iron(III) compounds
Iron complexes
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