Vanadium(II) chloride


Vanadium chloride is the inorganic compound with the formula VCl2, and is the most reduced vanadium chloride. Vanadium chloride is an apple-green solid that dissolves in water to give purple solutions.

Preparation, properties, and related compounds

Solid VCl2 is prepared by thermal decomposition of VCl3, which leaves a residue of VCl2:
VCl2 dissolves in water to give the purple hexaaquo ion 2+. Evaporation of such solutions produces crystals of Cl2.

Structure

Solid VCl2 adopts the cadmium iodide structure, featuring octahedral coordination geometry. VBr2 and VI2 are structurally and chemically similar to the dichloride. All have the d3 configuration, with a quartet ground state, akin to Cr.
Vanadium dichloride is a powerful reducing species, being able to convert sulfoxides to sulfides, organic azides to amines, as well as reductively coupling some alkyl halides.