Chloroform, also known as trichloromethane (TCM), is a volatile, colorless, strong-smelling, and dense liquid produced on a large scale as a precursor to PTFE and refrigerants. It is a trihalomethane that serves as a powerful anesthetic, euphoriant, anxiolytic, and sedative when inhaled or ingested. Chloroform is miscible with many solvents but is only slightly soluble in water. Its molecule adopts a tetrahedral molecular geometry with C3v symmetry, and about 90% of emissions are natural in origin. Chloroform is produced by various seaweed species and fungi in soil, with abiotic processes contributing to its production. As a volatile organic compound, it dissipates readily from soil and surface water and undergoes degradation in air to produce phosgene, dichloromethane, formyl chloride, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen chloride. Its half-life in air ranges from 55 to 620 days. Chloroform's biodegradation in water and soil is slow, and it does not significantly bioaccumulate in aquatic organisms.
The CAS Number of Chloroform is 67-66-3
The Molecular Formula of Chloroform is CHCl3
The Molecular Mass of Chloroform is 119.38
The SMILES Notation of Chloroform is ClC(Cl)Cl
The InChI Notation of Chloroform is InChI=1S/CHCl3/c2-1(3)4/h1H