GeCl4 is used in many industries as a dopant in silica glass to form optical fibers. It is also an important intermediate in the production of purified germanium.
The chemical composition of GeCl4 is reported to vary depending on the source and oxidizing agent. This is a major concern because it can result in a significant increase in the toxicity of the resulting products to workers and their families.
Consequently, it is necessary to find a way to remove the large amount of impurities that are present in the commercially available raw material. This process is diflicult to accomplish and costly, especially when the desired product is used in the fabrication of semiconductive devices.
Therefore, an improved method for the preparation of a pure material with the desired properties is presented. This method involves the multiple distillation of crude Germanium tetrachloride in the presence of hydrochloric acid and chlorine in a packed fractionating column. The purity of the resulting product is determined by analysis of the final chromatogram.
This procedure has a number of advantages over the currently used procedure, including its simplicity and lower operating costs. It can be performed using readily available components, and does not require the use of expensive chromatographic columns.
Another advantage of this approach is that it eliminates the need for specialized equipment and permits easy transport. This process also reduces the time needed for obtaining the required purity of the product. The procedure can be easily scaled up and used for a variety of applications where the purity of the final product is critical.