Preparation of Chloroform

The haloform reaction is used to prepare chloroform in a simple procedure. The resulting crude product is dried, distilled, and stabilized, giving an overall 66.5% yield from hypochlorite. A later batch using 4 of these bottles with proper chilling to -5C gave an average of 73.0% yield (bottles were also cooled faster following the reaction by placing outside in near-freezing rain). A discussion of the reaction mechanism follows. The intro music clip is from "Stealing Fat" by The Dust Brothers. I believe this falls under fair use.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• trichloromethane
• halides
• trihalomethane
• chloroform
• haloform
• hypochlorite
• bleach
• acetone
• ketone
• methyl
• solvent
• reagent
• organic
• amateur
• chemistry
• synthesis
• Organic Chemistry
• Chemical Synthesis

[surplusdriller]

you sir make grate videos.

can you make one on the prepperation of chloral and chlorobenzene for the synthesis of DDT?

[UC235]

@surplusdriller No, on the grounds that chloral is a US list IV controlled substance and making it (for any purpose) would be a criminal offense with the video being all the needed evidence to convict.

On the other hand, I have found a way to sidestep the need for chloral. p-chlorobenzaldehyde can react with chloroform in alkaline conditions to give 4-chloro-(2,2,2-trichloro-1-hy­droxyethyl)benzene, the intermediate in the DDT synthesis. This with H2SO4 and chlorobenzene would give DDT.

[gunny0488]

does anyone actually realise what this shit is used for haha

[UC235]

@gunny0488 I've been waiting for a stupid comment for a while. So far, I've used it to recrystallize 5-carboxypentyltriphenylphosph­onium bromide and for azeotropic drying during a fischer esterification. Did you know that gasoline is used for getting high if you're poor and vengefully burning other people's vehicles/houses/etc? The point is that almost everything has negative and positive uses and chloroform's ability to knock people out is rather exaggerated.

[sk8erpunk1933]

How do you figure that the Cl-Cl bond has any partial charges? Did you mean the Cl-OH?

(Since Cl and Cl obviously have the same electronegativities, shouldn't they chare the electrons equally?)

[UC235]

@sk8erpunk1933 Diatomic halogens are particularly susceptible to induced dipoles caused by close proximity of a polar molecule or an ion (like the acetone enolate in particular). Relative to molecules such as H2 or hydrocarbons, they are much more easily polarized.

[HomesteadScientific]

I agree with toothpick, keep the longer videos. I enjoy the explanations. I'm pretty new to organic chemistry and I enjoy knowledge.

[jah0524]

What is the purity of the final product?

[gunny0488]

@UC235 fair enough didn't really need an essay to get your point across

[AlChemicalLife]

im trying to get me a distiation kit. if the kit is good im gonna get it but i need to know if it is a good kit. thx

[AlChemicalLife]

i have a question. is borosilicate glass 3.3 (pyrex) good glass for distilation. here is the kit

ebay(DOT)com/itm/New-Organic-L­ab-Glassware-Kit-Joint-size-24­-40-/250814649120?pt=LH_Defaul­tDomain_0&hash=item3a65b7d320