The
structure of the very
strong solid Lewis acid aluminum chlorofluoride (ACF, AlCl
xF
3-x,
x = 0.05-0.3) was
studied by IR, ESR, Cl K XANES,
19F MAS NMR, and
27Al SATRAS NMR spectroscopic methods and comparedwith amorphous aluminum fluoride conventionally prepared by dehydration of
-AlF
3·3H
2O. The thermal behaviorof both compounds was inve
stigated by DTA and XRD. In comparison to ACF, amorphous AlF
3 prepared in aconventional way is not catalytically active for the isomerization reaction of 1,2-dibromohexafluoropropane, whichrequires a very
strong Lewis acid. Both compounds are mainly built up of corner-sharing AlF
6 octahedra forminga random network. The degree of disorder in ACF is higher than in amorphous AlF
3. Terminal fluorine atoms weredetected in ACF by
19F NMR. The chlorine in ACF does not exi
st as a separate, cry
stalline AlCl
3 phase. Additionally,chlorine-containing radicals, remaining from the synthesis, are trapped in cavities of ACF. These radicals are
stableat room temperature but do not take part in the catalytic reaction.