March 28, 2024, 06:01:07 AM
Forum Rules: Read This Before Posting


Topic: How useful is chloroform in organic chemistry?  (Read 1743 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline RisingEastStar17

  • Regular Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 20
  • Mole Snacks: +1/-1
  • Gender: Male
  • I also frequently browse/post on r/TheeHive
How useful is chloroform in organic chemistry?
« on: February 16, 2022, 02:36:02 AM »
I was thinking about this the other day. Until lately, I have always being using diethyl ether and toluene as my solvent of choice when I was recommended to try chloroform. And long story short, it definitely works really good with extractions but not so much as a general solvent. In terms of money, would using chloroform be much cheaper to use or staying with diethyl ether?

Offline Babcock_Hall

  • Chemist
  • Sr. Member
  • *
  • Posts: 5594
  • Mole Snacks: +319/-22
Re: How useful is chloroform in organic chemistry?
« Reply #1 on: February 16, 2022, 09:17:25 AM »
It is my understanding that solubility of the substance may be a factor in some instances.  I recall hearing a spectroscopist discussing unknown impurities that he was often tasked to identify.  For him chloroform was the go-to solvent.

Offline sjb

  • Global Moderator
  • Sr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 3653
  • Mole Snacks: +222/-42
  • Gender: Male
Re: How useful is chloroform in organic chemistry?
« Reply #2 on: February 16, 2022, 09:40:46 AM »
Obviously it does depend on exact use, but don't forget NMR standards and dichlorocarbenes..

Offline Corribus

  • Chemist
  • Sr. Member
  • *
  • Posts: 3471
  • Mole Snacks: +526/-23
  • Gender: Male
  • A lover of spectroscopy and chocolate.
Re: How useful is chloroform in organic chemistry?
« Reply #3 on: February 16, 2022, 10:47:16 AM »
Great for extractions/separations because it's heavier than (and highly immiscible with) water. I did my PhD work with porphyrins so it was also very useful as synthetic and analytical solvent because it is non-coordinating (does not readily coordinate to metal ions). Finally, it better than a lot of aromatic organic solvents (like toluene) for spectroscopic expts because it is pretty much UV-Vis and fluorescence silent. As FTIR solvent it isn't nearly as good as carbon tetrachloride, but... well, ya know. Don't wanna die.
What men are poets who can speak of Jupiter if he were like a man, but if he is an immense spinning sphere of methane and ammonia must be silent?  - Richard P. Feynman

Sponsored Links