Aluminum bromide catalyst reaction with oxygen

Mole ratios You have seen that the coefficients in a chemical equation indicate the relationships among moles of reactants and products. For example, return to the reaction between iron and oxygen described in Table 12-1. The equation indicates that four moles of iron react with three moles of oxygen. It also indicates that four moles of iron react to produce two moles of iron(III) oxide. How many moles of oxygen react to produce two moles of iron(III) oxide You can use the relationships between coefficients to write conversion factors called mole ratios. A mole ratio is a ratio between the numbers of moles of any two substances in a balanced chemical equation. As another example, consider the reaction shown in Figure 12-2. Aluminum reacts with bromine to form aluminum bromide. Aluminum bromide is used as a catalyst to speed up a variety of chemical reactions. 

The action of aluminum bromide on n-heptane, using highly purified materials and controlled conditions, has been studied (Grummitt et al., 42). Aluminum bromide, rather than aluminum chloride, was selected as a catalyst because its hydrocarbon solubility permits the initial reaction to be homogeneous. The reaction was carried out in a flask which was evacuated, flamed, and rinsed dry with oxygen-free nitrogen. The aluminum bromide... 

---