Aluminum Hydride(redirected from Aluminium hydride)
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(AIH3)X, a compound of aluminum and hydrogen, a white noncrystalline substance that decomposes at temperatures greater than 105°C, with the separation of hydrogen. First obtained in 1942 through the process of glow discharge in a solution of trimethylaluminum and hydrogen, aluminum hydride is capable of forming binary hydrides with the composition MeHn.nAlH3 (where Me is a metal) called alumohydrides, or alanates. These are white, solid substances, soluble in ether, that dissociate in water with the separation of hydrogen. Alumohydrides are widely used in organic chemistry as hydrogenizing agents. Lithium alumohydride—LiAlH4—is a fast-acting, strong, and selective reducing agent. In inorganic synthesis it is used to obtain volatile hydrides of boron, aluminum, silicon, germanium, tin, and other elements.