Aluminum Iodide (AlI3)-Powder

Characteristic

Aluminium iodide is any chemical compound containing only aluminium and iodine. Invariably, the name refers to a compound of the composition AlI₃, formed by the reaction of aluminium and iodine or the action of HI on Al metal. 

Chemical formula：AlI₃, AlI₃·6H₂O (hexahydrate)

Molar mass：407.695 g/mol (anhydrous)  / 515.786 g/mol (hexahydrate)

Appearance：White (anhydrous) or Yellow powder (hexahydrate)

Density：3.98 g/cm3 (anhydrous)  /  2.63 g/cm3 (hexahydrate)

Melting point：188.28 °C (370.90 °F; 461.43 K) (anhydrous)  /   185 °C, decomposes (hexahydrate)

Boiling point：382 °C (720 °F; 655 K) anhydrous, sublimes

Solubility in water：very soluble, partial hydrolysis，Solubility in alcohol, ether：soluble (hexahydrate)

Application

Act as a catalyst in organic reactions.

Used as electrolyte in dye-sensitized solar cells.

On the basis of the original work of dye-sensitized solar cells, aluminum iodide electrolyte was prepared by in situ reaction of aluminum and iodine in solution with ethanol as solvent under atmospheric environment. The electrolyte was directly applied to dye-sensitized solar cells, and the high photoelectric conversion efficiency of 5.9% was obtained.

This new aluminum iodide electrolyte has four advantages, such as low cost, easy preparation, good performance and environmental friendliness, which opens up a new way for the research of dye-sensitized solar cell electrolytes.