Chloroform

Chloroform is a clear, heavy liquid with a sweet smell.

It is known as an organochloride. This means it is a substance made of carbon and chlorine. In nature, some kinds of seaweed produce it. Fungi in the soil are also believed to make it. It can even form in soil through natural processes. Today, it is used mostly as a solvent. A solvent is a liquid that can dissolve other materials. It is also used to make important things like non-stick coatings.

Making chloroform on a large scale is a specific process. Scientists heat a mixture of chlorine and methane. They can also use methyl chloride instead of methane. This happens at very high temperatures between 400 and 500 degrees Celsius. This heat causes a reaction called free radical halogenation. This process turns the starting materials into different chlorinated compounds. The result is a mixture of four different substances. These include chloromethane, methylene chloride, chloroform, and carbon tetrachloride. Workers then use a method called distillation to separate the chloroform from the rest.

Many people helped discover and name chloroform in the 1800s. In 1830, a German pharmacist named Moldenhawer made it by mixing ethanol with chlorinated lime. He thought he had made something else called chloric ether. In 1831, a U.S. physician named Samuel Guthrie also made it. He noticed that it had anesthetic properties. Later, a French chemist named Jean-Baptiste Dumas found its true formula in 1834. He gave it the name "chloroform." This name comes from combining words for chloride and a part of formic acid. By 1895, Britain was producing about 750,000 doses every week.

Chloroform has a long and complicated history in medicine. In 1842, Robert Mortimer Glover found it could act as an anesthetic on animals. In 1847, a Scottish doctor named James Y. Simpson showed it worked on humans. This helped make it a popular drug for medical use. However, the drug was very dangerous because people could die from too much. To help, a doctor named John Snow made an inhaler in 1848. This tool helped regulate the dose for patients. Later, Joseph Thomas Clover invented a safer way to apply it in 1862.

Even though doctors stopped using it for sleep, chloroform is still very useful. It is a precursor for making PTFE. This is the material used to make non-stick pans. It is also used to make R-22, which helps with cooling. Chloroform is a great solvent for many things. It can dissolve rubber, wax, and resins. It is even used in fire extinguishers and as a cleaning agent. Scientists also use a special version called deuterochloroform in labs. This version helps them study molecules using a tool called NMR spectroscopy.