A facile synthesis for BeCl2, BeBr2 and BeI2

Here we present a facile synthesis for anhydrous BeCl2, BeBr2 and BeI2 from the elements under mild conditions. While this method delivers pure BeI2 directly, BeCl2 and BeBr2 were further purified by vacuum sublimation. Complete sets of solid state IR and Raman spectroscopic and X-ray powder diffraction data of these beryllium halides were collected including the previously missing IR and Raman spectra of BeBr2 and BeI2. All halides were additionally investigated by quantum chemical calculations. This allowed an assignment of the IR and Raman modes, which had never been done before on any beryllium halide and allowed interpretation of the experimental data as well as the differentiation of polymorphs.