Titanium tetraiodide
Encyclopedia
Titanium tetraiodide is an inorganic compound
with the formula
TiI4. It is a rare molecular binary metal iodide, consisting of isolated molecules of tetrahedral Ti(IV) centers. Reflecting its molecular character, TiI4 can be distilled without decomposition at one atmosphere; this property is the basis of the Van Arkel process for the purification of titanium. The difference in melting point between TiCl4 (m.p. -24 °C) and TiI4 (m.p. 150 °C) is comparable to the difference between the melting points of CCl4
(m.p. -23 °C) and CI4
(m.p. 168 °C), reflecting the stronger intermolecular van der Waals bonding in the iodides.
1) From the elements, typically using a tube furnace at 425 °C:
This reaction can be reversed to produce highly pure films of Ti metal.
2) Exchange reaction from titanium tetrachloride
and HI.
3) Oxide-iodide exchange from aluminium iodide
.
Inorganic compound
Inorganic compounds have traditionally been considered to be of inanimate, non-biological origin. In contrast, organic compounds have an explicit biological origin. However, over the past century, the classification of inorganic vs organic compounds has become less important to scientists,...
with the formula
Chemical formula
A chemical formula or molecular formula is a way of expressing information about the atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound....
TiI4. It is a rare molecular binary metal iodide, consisting of isolated molecules of tetrahedral Ti(IV) centers. Reflecting its molecular character, TiI4 can be distilled without decomposition at one atmosphere; this property is the basis of the Van Arkel process for the purification of titanium. The difference in melting point between TiCl4 (m.p. -24 °C) and TiI4 (m.p. 150 °C) is comparable to the difference between the melting points of CCl4
Carbon tetrachloride
Carbon tetrachloride, also known by many other names is the organic compound with the formula CCl4. It was formerly widely used in fire extinguishers, as a precursor to refrigerants, and as a cleaning agent...
(m.p. -23 °C) and CI4
Carbon tetraiodide
Carbon tetraiodide is CI4, a tetrahalomethane. Being bright red, it is a relatively rare example of a highly colored methane derivative. It is only 2% by weight carbon, although other methane derivatives are known with still less carbon....
(m.p. 168 °C), reflecting the stronger intermolecular van der Waals bonding in the iodides.
Production
Three methods are well known:1) From the elements, typically using a tube furnace at 425 °C:
-
- Ti + 2 I2 → TiI4
This reaction can be reversed to produce highly pure films of Ti metal.
2) Exchange reaction from titanium tetrachloride
Titanium tetrachloride
Titanium tetrachloride is the inorganic compound with the formula TiCl4. It is an important intermediate in the production of titanium metal and the pigment titanium dioxide. TiCl4 is an unusual example of a metal halide that is highly volatile...
and HI.
-
- TiCl4 + 4 HI → TiI4 + 4 HCl
3) Oxide-iodide exchange from aluminium iodide
Aluminium iodide
Aluminium iodide is any chemical compound containing only aluminium and iodine. Invariably, the name refers to a compound of the composition AlI3, formed by the reaction of aluminium and iodine or the action of HI on Al metal. The hexahydrate is obtained from a reaction between metallic aluminum...
.
-
- 3 TiO2 + 4 AlI3 → 3 TiI4 + 2 Al2O3