Aluminum chloride has extensive commercial applications. It is used primarily in the electrolytic production of aluminum. Another major use involves its catalytic applications in many organic reactions, including Friedel-Crafts alkylation, polymerization, isomerization, hydrocracking, oxidation, decarboxylation, and dehydrogenation. It is also used in the production of rare earth chlorides, electroplating of aluminum and in many metal finishing and metallurgical operations. Aluminum chloride (AlCl3) act as Lewis acids to a wide range of electron-pair donors, and this has led to their widespread use as catalysts. In the important Friedel–Crafts acylation, AlCl3 is used as a strong Lewis acid catalyst in order to achieve the acylation of an aromatic ring.
