Crystal Structure of β-TiCl₃

Abstract

β-TiCl₃ is usually prepared according to the reaction: by mixing heptane solutions of the reactants. The product thus obtained, however, is not suitable for determinations of X-ray structure, because of the poor quality of the powder patterns. Natta et al.¹obtained better X-ray photographs from samples prepared by thermal decomposition of CH₃TiCl₃ (ref. 2). From these photographs they arrived at a crystal structure which is very similar to the structures of the needle-shaped modification of TiBr₃, TiI₃ and the zirconium trihalogenides³.