Crystals of frozen titanium tetrachloride melting into the liquid
Titanium tetrachloride is the inorganic compound with the formulaTiCl4. It is an important intermediate in the production of titanium metal and the pigment titanium dioxide. TiCl4 is a volatile liquid. Upon contact with humid air, it forms thick clouds of titanium dioxide (TiO2) and hydrochloric acid, a reaction that was formerly exploited for use in smoke machines. It is sometimes referred to as "tickle" or "tickle 4", as a phonetic representation of the symbols of its molecular formula (TiCl4).[7][8]
Properties and structure
TiCl4 is a dense, colourless liquid, although crude samples may be yellow or even red-brown. It is one of the rare transition metal halides that is a liquid at room temperature, VCl4 being another example. This property reflects the fact that molecules of TiCl4 weakly self-associate. Most metal chlorides are polymers, wherein the chloride atoms bridge between the metals. Its melting point is similar to that of CCl4.[9][10]
Ti4+ has a "closed" electronic shell, with the same number of electrons as the noble gas argon. The tetrahedral structure for TiCl4 is consistent with its description as a d0 metal center (Ti4+) surrounded by four identical ligands. This configuration leads to highly symmetrical structures, hence the tetrahedral shape of the molecule. TiCl4 adopts similar structures to TiBr4 and TiI4; the three compounds share many similarities. TiCl4 and TiBr4 react to give mixed halides TiCl4−xBrx, where x = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4. Magnetic resonance measurements also indicate that halide exchange is also rapid between TiCl4 and VCl4.[11]
The coproduction of FeCl3 is undesirable, which has motivated the development of alternative technologies. Instead of directly using ilmenite, "rutile slag" is used. This material, an impure form of TiO2, is derived from ilmenite by removal of iron, either using carbon reduction or extraction with sulfuric acid. Crude TiCl4 contains a variety of other volatile halides, including vanadyl chloride (VOCl3), silicon tetrachloride (SiCl4), and tin tetrachloride (SnCl4), which must be separated.[10]
Applications
Production of titanium metal
The world's supply of titanium metal, about 250,000 tons per year, is made from TiCl4. The conversion involves the reduction of the tetrachloride with magnesium metal. This procedure is known as the Kroll process:[14]
In some cases, TiCl4 is oxidised directly with oxygen:
TiCl4 + O2 → TiO2 + 2 Cl2
Smoke screens
It has been used to produce smoke screens since it produces a heavy, white smoke that has little tendency to rise. "Tickle" was the standard means of producing on-set smoke effects for motion pictures, before being phased out in the 1980s due to concerns about hydrated HCl's effects on the respiratory system.[16]
Chemical reactions
Titanium tetrachloride is a versatile reagent that forms diverse derivatives including those illustrated below.[17]
Alcoholysis and related reactions
A characteristic reaction of TiCl4 is its easy hydrolysis, signaled by the release of HCl vapors and titanium oxides and oxychlorides. Titanium tetrachloride has been used to create naval smokescreens, as the hydrochloric acid aerosol and titanium dioxide that is formed scatter light very efficiently. This smoke is corrosive, however.[10]
Organic amines react with TiCl4 to give complexes containing amido (R2N−-containing) and imido (RN2−-containing) complexes. With ammonia, titanium nitride is formed. An illustrative reaction is the synthesis of tetrakis(dimethylamido)titaniumTi(N(CH3)2)4, a yellow, benzene-soluble liquid:[19] This molecule is tetrahedral, with planar nitrogen centers.[20]
4 LiN(CH3)2 + TiCl4 → 4 LiCl + Ti(N(CH3)2)4
Complexes with simple ligands
TiCl4 is a Lewis acid as implicated by its tendency to hydrolyze. With the etherTHF, TiCl4 reacts to give yellow crystals of TiCl4(THF)2. With chloride salts, TiCl4 reacts to form sequentially [Ti2Cl9]−, [Ti2Cl10]2− (see figure above), and [TiCl6]2−.[21] The reaction of chloride ions with TiCl4 depends on the counterion. [N(CH2CH2CH2CH3)4]Cl and TiCl4 gives the pentacoordinate complex [N(CH2CH2CH2CH3)4][TiCl5], whereas smaller [N(CH2CH3)4]+ gives [N(CH2CH3)4]2[Ti2Cl10]. These reactions highlight the influence of electrostatics on the structures of compounds with highly ionic bonding.
Redox
Reduction of TiCl4 with aluminium results in one-electron reduction. The trichloride (TiCl3) and tetrachloride have contrasting properties: the trichloride is a colored solid, being a coordination polymer, and is paramagnetic. When the reduction is conducted in THF solution, the Ti(III) product converts to the light-blue adduct TiCl3(THF)3.
Arenes, such as C6(CH3)6 react to give the piano-stool complexes[Ti(C6R6)Cl3]+ (R = H, CH3; see figure above). This reaction illustrates the high Lewis acidity of the TiCl+3 entity, which is generated by abstraction of chloride from TiCl4 by AlCl3.[12]
Hazards posed by titanium tetrachloride generally arise from its reaction with water that releases hydrochloric acid, which is severely corrosive itself and whose vapors are also extremely irritating. TiCl4 is a strong Lewis acid, which exothermically forms adducts with even weak bases such as THF and water.
References
^Eremenko, B. V.; Bezuglaya, T. N.; Savitskaya, A. N.; Malysheva, M. L.; Kozlov, I. S.; Bogodist, L. G. (2001). "Stability of Aqueous Dispersions of the Hydrated Titanium Dioxide Prepared by Titanium Tetrachloride Hydrolysis". Colloid Journal. 63 (2): 173–178. doi:10.1023/A:1016673605744. S2CID93971747.
^ ab"Organotitanium Reagents in Organic Synthesis (Reactivity and Structure Concepts in Organic Chemistry, Vol 24)" Manfred T. Reetz 1986ISBN0-387-15784-0
^M. E. Davie; T. Foerster; S. Parsons; C. Pulham; D. W. H. Rankin; B. A. Smart (2006). "The Crystal Structure of Tetrakis(dimethylamino)titanium(IV)". Polyhedron. 25 (4): 923–929. doi:10.1016/j.poly.2005.10.019.
^Mariappan Periasamy (2002): "New synthetic methods using the TiCl4-NR3 reagent system", Arkivoc, p. 151-166.
^Gundersen, L.-L.; Rise, F.; Undheim, K. (2004). "Titanium(IV) chloride". In Paquette, L. (ed.). Encyclopedia of Reagents for Organic Synthesis. New York, NY: J. Wiley & Sons.
General reading
Holleman, A. F.; Wiberg, E. (2001). Inorganic Chemistry. San Diego, CA: Academic Press. ISBN978-0-12-352651-9.