The structure and properties of diethylfluoroalane, (C2H5)2AlF

Article abstract of DOI:10.1021/ic50038a001

The unusually viscous compound diethylfluoroalane, (C₂H₅)₂AlF, has been characterized. Cryoscopic and ebullioscopic molecular weight determinations in benzene solution indicate the existence of a tetramer. Infrared, pmr, and F¹⁹ nmr spectra support a ring structure, with an alternating aluminum-fluorine backbone for the tetramer. The compound has acceptor properties weaker than those of the other dialkylhaloalanes. No stable ether adduct could be isolated, but the identity of amine adducts and their decomposition products has been established. Pyrolytic decomposition of (C₂H₅)₂AlF yields ethane, in contrast to the olefins which have been reported for other alkylaluminum compounds. The high viscosity of liquid (C₂H₅)₂AlF is believed to result from extensive Al-F-Al bridging to build polymeric frameworks. Copyright 1966 by the American Chemical Society.