Kinetics of the reaction of metal alkyl compounds with alkenes. Part 4.—The dissociation of aluminium triethyl dimer

Abstract

The vapour pressure of aluminium triethyl is measured in the range 60–120°C, and found to obey the relationship log₁₀p= 10.85–3613/T, which gives values of 186°C, 16.5 kcal/mole of vapour and 35.9 cal/mole deg. for the boiling point, heat of vaporization and Trouton's constant. These values are anomalous and are attributed to the presence of association, 2AlEt₃⇌Al₂Et₆. The heat of association is –10.2 kcal/mole of Al₂Et₆. This value is used to evaluate the Arrhenius parameters of the reaction of aluminium triethyl monomer and α-alkenes.