Dichloromethane

 

Dichloromethane
aka methylene chloride

Chemical formula	CH2Cl2
OTP appearance	colorless, odorous liquid
Index of refraction	1.4244
Molar Mass(g/mol)	84.93
Density(g/cc)	1.3266
Melting Point(°C)	-96.7
Boiling Point(°C)	39.6
Solubility in water(g/L)	17.5
NFPA 704	1 2 0

Uses

Primary

• Organic solvent

Natural occurrence

• does occur naturally in some oceanic zones

Production

Synthesis

cf. chloromethane production

from trichloromethane

Hydrogenate trichloromethane using zinc and hydrochloric acid

CHCl₃ + Zn + HCl → CH₂Cl₂ + ZnCl₂)

Purification

Fractionally distill the product mixture

Chloromethane boiling points

Compound	Boiling point (°C)
CH3Cl	-23.8
CH2Cl2	39.6
CHCl3	61.15
CCl4	76.72

See Also

• chloromethane, trichloromethane, carbon tetrachloride