Aluminum chloride AlCl3 is an inorganic compound that is primarily ionic in nature. Aluminum is a metal from group 13 in the periodic table and chlorine is a non-metal from group 17 in the periodic table . When a metal and a non-metal react, they tend to form an ionic compound. In this case, aluminum loses three electrons to achieve a stable electron configuration, forming an Al3+ ion, while each chlorine atom gains one electron to form a Cl- ion. The resulting compound, AlCl3, is held together by the electrostatic attraction between the positively charged aluminum ion and the negatively charged chloride ions.However, it is important to note that AlCl3 also exhibits some covalent character due to the polarizing effect of the small and highly charged Al3+ ion. This polarizing effect causes a distortion in the electron cloud of the chloride ions, leading to some sharing of electrons between the aluminum and chlorine atoms. This gives AlCl3 a partial covalent character, but it is still predominantly ionic.