Aluminum bromide catalyst reaction with water

Aluminum chloride. The reaction of aluminum chloride with water is, to some extent, similar to the one of aluminum bromide namely, the more water added, the less hydrogen chloride liberated. With a 1 molal ratio of water to aluminum chloride, 0.71 mole hydrogen chloride was formed when the water-aluminum chloride ratio was increased to 2, only 0.29 mole hydrogen chloride was generated per mole aluminum chloride reacted (Table XI). The catalysts produced from the actioii of water on aluminum chloride were less active than those obtained from aluminum bromide and therefore the isomerization experiments were carried out at 80-100°. Unlike aluminum chloride, catalysts produced by the action of water on aluminum chloride did not require the presence of olefins or hydrogen chloride to promote the isomerization of 7i-butane. 

The effect of water upon the isomerization of n-butane that contains aluminum bromide also has been studied. These experiments are not comparable with those described above, as the hydrogen bromide formed was not removed from the reaction zone. It was found that aluminum bromide promoted by water, in spite of the free hydrogen bromide present, is a less active catalyst (Table X) than the corresponding catalyst described... 

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