Making Anhydrous Aluminum Chloride

In Episode 2 of Pour & Play, we make aluminum chloride anhydrously. Simply adding hydrochloric acid to aluminum produces a chemically worthless product (hard-to-clean metal sludge and very noxious fumes). This is because aluminum chloride binds to water so strongly that any attempt to dehydrate it will instead oxidize the product into aluminum oxychloride. Anhydrous aluminum chloride though is an extremely valuable reagent in Organic Chemistry. It can rapidly catalyze reactions pertaining to aromatic compounds and movement of electrons.

Warning:
Chlorine Gas involved. DO NOT try this at home. This is for demonstration purposes only.

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