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 disproportionation of vanadium trichloride, which leaves a residue of VCl₂ after evaporation of the tetrachloride:
The trichloride can also be reduced by heating under flowing hydrogen:
VCl₂ dissolves in water to give the purple hexaaquo ion ²⁺. Evaporation of such solutions produces crystals of Cl₂.
Vanadium dichloride is used as a specialty reductant in organic chemistry. As an aqueous solution, it converts cyclohexylnitrate to cyclohexanone. It reduces phenyl azide into aniline.

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.