Tungsten Hexachloride

Tungsten hexachloride is the chemical compound of tungsten and chlorine with the formula WCl₆. This dark violet blue species exists as a volatile solid under standard conditions. It is an important starting reagent in the preparation of tungsten compounds. WCl₆ is a rare example of a charge-neutral hexachloride, another example being ReCl₆. Better known than WCl₆ is the still more volatile WF₆.

As a d0 ion, W(VI) forms diamagnetic derivatives. The hexachloride is octahedral with equivalent W-Cl distances of 2.24 - 2.26 Å. In acceptor, the chloride ligands are donors in both sigma- and pi sense.