Zirconium tetrachloride

Other catalysts which may be used in the Friedel - Crafts alkylation reaction include ferric chloride, antimony pentachloride, zirconium tetrachloride, boron trifluoride, zinc chloride and hydrogen fluoride but these are generally not so effective in academic laboratories. The alkylating agents include alkyl halides, alcohols and olefines. 

Molten Salt Distillation. Hafnium tetrachloride is slightly more volatile than zirconium tetrachloride, but a separation process based on this volatility difference is impractical at atmospheric pressures because only soHd and vapor phases exist. The triple point for these systems is at about 2.7 MPa (400 psia) and 400°C so that separation of the Hquids by distillation would necessarily require a massive pressurized system (13). 

The production of sihcon tetrachloride by these methods was abandoned worldwide in the early 1980s. Industrial tetrachlorosilane derives from two processes associated with trichlorosilane, the direct reaction of hydrogen chloride on sihcon primarily produced as an intermediate for fumed sihca production, and as a by-product in the disproportionation reaction of trichlorosilane to silane utilized in microelectronics. Substantial quantities of tetrachlorosilane are produced as a by-product in the production of zirconium tetrachloride, but this source has decreased in the 1990s owing to reduction in demand for zirconium in nuclear facihties (see Nuclearreactors). The price of tetrachlorosilane varies between l/kg and 25/kg, depending on grade and container. 

Chlorination. Historically, the production of zirconium tetrachloride from zircon sand involved first a reduction to carbide nitride (see above) followed by the very exothermic reaction of the cmshed carbide nitride with chlorine gas in a water-cooled vertical shaft furnace ... 

The product gases are first cooled below 200°C to selectively condense so-called zirconium tetrachloride snow in a large space condenser. The sihcon tetrachloride subsequendy is condensed in a quench condenser wherein the warm gases are countercurrendy scmbbed with Hquid siUcon tetrachloride at —20° C. The siUcon tetrachloride is purified by stripping and distillation. 

Pure zirconium tetrachloride is obtained by the fractional distillation of the anhydrous tetrachlorides in a high pressure system (58). Commercial operation of the fractional distillation process in a batch mode was proposed by Ishizuka Research Institute (59). The mixed tetrachlorides are heated above 437°C, the triple point of zirconium tetrachloride. AH of the hafnium tetrachloride and some of the zirconium tetrachloride are distiUed, leaving pure zirconium tetrachloride. The innovative aspect of this operation is the use of a double-sheU reactor. The autogenous pressure of 3—4.5 MPa (30—45 atm) inside the heated reactor is balanced by the nitrogen pressure contained in the cold outer reactor (60). However, previous evaluation in the former USSR of the binary distiUation process (61) has cast doubt on the feasibHity of also producing zirconium-free hafnium tetrachloride by this method because of the limited range of operating temperature imposed by the smaH difference in temperature between the triple point, 433°C, and critical temperature, 453°C, a hafnium tetrachloride. 

Reduction. BrezeHus attempted the first reduction of zirconium in 1824 by the reaction of sodium with potassium fiuorozirconate. However, the first pure ductile metal was made in 1925 by the iodide thermal-dissociation method. The successfiil commercial production of pure ductile zirconium via the magnesium reduction of zirconium tetrachloride vapor in an inert gas atmosphere was the result of the intense research efforts of KroU and... 

Obtaining pure ductile zirconium by reduction of the oxide is particularly difficult because of the tendency of hot zirconium to dissolve considerable amounts of oxygen, making the metal britde at room temperature. Therefore, it is common practice to reduce oxygen-free zirconium tetrachloride. 

Other Reductions. Ductile, pure zirconium has been made by a two-stage sodium reduction of zirconium tetrachloride (68) in which the tetrachloride and sodium are continuously fed into a stirred reactor to form zirconium dichloride [13762-26-0], heating with additional sodium yields zirconium metal. Leaching with water removes the sodium chloride from the zirconium. Bomb reduction of pure zirconium tetrafluoride with calcium also produces pure metal (69). 

Qua.driva.Ient, Zirconium tetrafluoride is prepared by fluorination of zirconium metal, but this is hampered by the low volatility of the tetrafluoride which coats the surface of the metal. An effective method is the halogen exchange between flowing hydrogen fluoride gas and zirconium tetrachloride at 300°C. Large volumes are produced by the addition of concentrated hydrofluoric acid to a concentrated nitric acid solution of zirconium zirconium tetrafluoride monohydrate [14956-11-3] precipitates (69). The recovered crystals ate dried and treated with hydrogen fluoride gas at 450°C in a fluid-bed reactor. The thermal dissociation of fluorozirconates also yields zirconium tetrafluoride. 

Zirconium tetrachloride, ZrCl, is prepared by a variety of anhydrous chlorination procedures. The reaction of chlorine or hydrogen chloride with zirconium metal above 300°C, or phosgene or carbon tetrachloride on zirconium oxide above 450°C, or chlorine on an intimate mixture of zirconium oxide and carbon above 700°C are commonly used. 

Zirconium tetrachloride is a tetrahedral monomer in the gas phase, but the soHd is a polymer of ZrCl octahedra arranged in zigzag chains in such a way that each zirconium has two pairs of bridging chlorine anions and two terminal or t-chlorine anions. The octahedra are distorted with unequal Zr—Cl bridge bonds of 0.2498 and 0.2655 nm. The physical properties of zirconium tetrachloride are given in Table 7. 

Zirconium tetrachloride is instantly hydrolyzed in water to zirconium oxide dichloride octahydrate [13520-92-8]. Zirconium tetrachloride exchanges chlorine for 0x0 bonds in the reaction with hydroxylic ligands, forming alkoxides from alcohols (see Alkoxides, METAl). Zirconium tetrachloride combines with many Lewis bases such as dimethyl sulfoxide, phosphoms oxychloride and amines including ammonia, ethers, and ketones. The zirconium organometalLic compounds ate all derived from zirconium tetrachloride. 

Zirconium tetrachloride forms additional compounds with phosphoms pentachloride ZtCl PCl and ZtCl 2PC1. However, the alleged... 

Zirconium tetrachloride forms hexachlorozirconates with alkab-metal chlorides, eg, Li ZrCl [18346-96-8] Na2ZrClg [18346-98-0] K ZrCl [18346-99-1y, Rb2ZrClg [19381 -65-8] and Cs2ZrClg, and with alkaline-earth metal chlorides SrZrCh [21210-13-9] and BaZrCl [21210-12-8]. The vapor pressure of ZrCl over these melts as a function of the respective alkah chlorides and of ZrCl concentration were studied as potential electrolytes for the electrowinning of zirconium (72). The zirconium tetrachloride vapor pressure increased in the following sequence Cs < Rb < K < Na < Li. The stabiUty of a hexachlorohafnate is greater than that of a comparable hexachlorozirconate (171), and this has been proposed as a separation method (172). 

Oxide Chlorides. Zirconium oxide dichloride, ZrOCl2 -8H2 0 [13520-92-8] commonly called zirconium oxychloride, is really a hydroxyl chloride, [Zr4(OH)g T6H2 0]Clg T2H2O (189). Zirconium oxychloride is produced commercially by caustic fusion of zircon, followed by water washing to remove sodium siUcate and to hydrolyze the sodium zirconate the wet filter pulp is dissolved in hot hydrochloric acid, and ZrOCl2 -8H2 O is recovered from the solution by crystallization. An aqueous solution is also produced by the dissolution and hydrolysis of zirconium tetrachloride in water, or by the addition of hydrochloric acid to zirconium carbonate. 

Anhydrous zirconium oxide chloride, ZrOCl2 [7699-43-6] has been prepared by the reaction of dichlorine oxide with a zirconium tetrachloride suspension in carbon tetrachloride starting at —30° C and slowly rising to room temperature. The white soHd is extremely hygroscopic and decomposes to ZrCl and Zr02 at 250°C (200). 

Nitrates. Anhydrous zirconium tetranitrate [12372-57-5] Zr(N02)4, is prepared from zirconium tetrachloride and nitrogen pentoxide (201). The hydrated compounds are obtained from aqueous nitric acid (165) Zr0(N02)2 2H20 [20213-65-4] is most commonly used Zr(N02)4 5H20 [12372-57-5] can be produced from strong nitric acid. 

Amides, Imides, Alkamides. When zirconium tetrachloride reacts with hquid ammonia, only one chloride is displaced to form a white precipitate, insoluble in hquid ammonia (227) ... 

Zirconium dichiorohis(dimethylamide) [87227-57-4] ZrCl2[N(CH2)2]2 h made direcdy from methylamine and zirconium tetrachloride but all of the halogens can be substituted by treating zirconium tetrachloride with the appropriate lithium alkylamide (229). Zirconium arylamines are made from zirconium alkoxides which first are converted to aryloxides (230). 

The zirconium—nitrogen bond is weaker than the zirconium—oxygen bond even under anhydrous conditions. When zirconium tetrachloride reacts with carbonyl-containing amides such as... 

Dichlorotoluene (2,4-dichloro-l-methylben2ene) constitutes 80—85% of the dichlorotoluene fraction obtained in the chlorination of PCT with antimony trichloride (76) or zirconium tetrachloride (77) catalysts. It is separated from 3,4-dichlorotoluene (l,2-dichloro-4-methylben2ene), the principal contaminant, by distillation. Chlorination of OCT with sulfuryl chloride gives mainly 2,4-dichlorotoluene and small amounts of the 2,3 isomer (78). 

The tlrree impurities, iron, silicon and aluminium are present in the metal produced by the Kroll reduction of zirconium tetrachloride by magnesium to the extent of about 1100 ppm. After dre iodide refining process tire levels of these impurities are 350, 130 aird 700ppm respectively. The relative stabilities of the iodides of these metals compared to that of zirconium can be calculated from the exchange reactions... 

The Kroll process for tire reduction of tire halides of refractory metals by magnesium is exemplified by the reduction of zirconium tetrachloride to produce an impure metal which is subsequently refined with the van Arkel process to produce metal of nuclear reactor grade. After the chlorination of the impure oxide in the presence of carbon... 

In order to obtain compounds with Ti-O-P and Zr-O-P units, the hexaethoxy-derivative, NsPaCOEOg, was treated with titanium and zirconium tetrachlorides. In each case, hygroscopic solids of the type NaPaCOEOiOaMCU (M = Ti or Zr) and ethyl chloride were obtained. The degree of polymerization of these solids was 1.6—1.8, and on the basis of their i.r. and n.m.r. spectra, two alternative structures, (46) and (47), were proposed. In an alternative route to the same type of compound, N3P3CI6 was treated with tetra-n-butoxytitanium in o-xylene. Butyl chloride was liberated and a solid was obtained which has been assigned the structure (48). Its thermal decomposition was studied by differential thermal analysis. 

Finally, there was reported ignition and violent combustion of a mixture of zirconium tetrachloride and lithium that was kept under nitrogen. However, note that lithium gives rise to violent combustions in nitrogen with which it is, together with titanium, the only metal to react. 

The same happens with the same ether and titanium or zirconium tetrachloride. When the acid leads to an acid-base complex, which is particularly unstable ... 

The volatilities of both zirconium tetrachloride and hafnium tetrachloride are very similar to each other at normal operating temperatures, and their separation by a simple distillation or fractional distillation operation is not viable. However, when the mixed chloride vapor is contacted with an eutectic molten salt mixture of aluminum chloride and potassium chloride, zirconium chloride is preferentially absorbed. The vapor pressure difference between zirconium and hafnium tetrachlorides is greatly enhanced over the molten... 

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