Vanadium(II) chloride

Vanadium(II) chloride is VCl2. It is the most reduced vanadium chloride known. The species has the d3 configuration, with a quartet ground state, akin to Cr(III).

This salt-like solid has a polymeric structure. The other dihalides are also known, and VBr2 and VI2 are structurally and chemically similar to the dichloride. It is prepared by thermal decomposition of VCl3 to volatile VCl4, leaving a residue of VCl2.

Vanadium dichloride is a powerful reducing species, being able to reduce sulfoxides to sulfides, organic azides to amines, as well as reductively coupling some alkyl halides. Some derivatives have been shown to reduce nitrogen to hydrazine and ammonia.

VCl2 dissolves in water to give the ion [V(H2O)6]2+; evaporation of such solutions produced crystals of [V(H2O)6]Cl2 can be obtained.