I'm wondering how aluminum and 3 chloride atoms bondIf I'm right, Al has 3 valence electrons while Cl has only 3So since it is a covalent bond, Al's 3 valence electrons would bond with Cl's seven electronsBut while this makes the Cl shell full, Al still only has 6 valence electronsHow does it get 8?
serpintine belt may be slipping.
There are actually very few AlCl3 molecules, only in the vapor state, and at higher temperaturesIn the solid state, each aluminum atom is bonded to six adjacent chlorine atoms to form a network of aluminum and chlorine atomsIn the liquid and vapor phases aluminum chloride exists as molecules of Al2Cl6 where two chlorine atoms bridge two aluminum atoms The actual gaseous AlCl3 molecule is planar and each chlorine has an octet of electrons around it by sharing an electron from aluminumAluminum has a total of 6 electrons around it, and that's okIt doesn't have to have 8 electronsThe octet rule, you may be thinking of, is more like the octet suggestionThere are many, many compounds in which the central atom has fewer than eight or more than eight electrons around it.
