Tetrachloroethylene, also known under the systematic name tetrachloroethene, or perchloroethylene, and abbreviations such as "perc" (or "PERC"), and "PCE", is a chlorocarbon with the formula Cl2C=CCl2. It is a colorless liquid widely used for dry cleaning of fabrics, hence it is sometimes called "dry-cleaning fluid". It also has its uses as an effective automotive brake cleaner. It has a mild sweet odor, similar to the smell of chloroform, detectable by most people at a concentration of 1 part per million (1 ppm).
French chemist Henri Victor Regnault first synthesized tetrachloroethylene in 1839 by thermal decomposition of hexachloroethane following Michael Faraday's 1820 synthesis of protochloride of carbon (carbon tetrachloride).
C2Cl6 → C2Cl4 + Cl2
Faraday was previously falsely credited for the synthesis of tetrachloroethylene, which in reality, was carbon tetrachloride. While trying to make Faraday's "protochloride of carbon", Regnault found that his compound was different from Faraday's. Victor Regnault stated "according to Faraday, the chloride of carbon boiled around to degrees Celsius but mine did not begin to boil until
".
Tetrachloroethylene can be made by passing chloroform vapour through a red-hot tube, the side products include hexachlorobenzene and hexachloroethane, as reported in 1886.
Most tetrachloroethylene is produced by high temperature chlorinolysis of light hydrocarbons. The method is related to Faraday's method since hexachloroethane is generated and thermally decomposes. Side products include carbon tetrachloride, hydrogen chloride, and hexachlorobutadiene.
Several other methods have been developed. When 1,2-dichloroethane is heated to 400 °C with chlorine, tetrachloroethylene is produced by the chemical reaction:
ClCH2CH2Cl + 3 Cl2 → Cl2C=CCl2 + 4 HCl
This reaction can be catalyzed by a mixture of potassium chloride and aluminium chloride or by activated carbon. Trichloroethylene is a major byproduct, which is separated by distillation.
Worldwide production was about in 1985.
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.
This course provides students with an overview over the basics of environmental chemistry. This includes the chemistry of natural systems, as well as the fate of anthropogenic chemicals in natural sys
Dry cleaning is any cleaning process for clothing and textiles using a solvent other than water. Dry cleaning still involves liquid, but clothes are instead soaked in a water-free liquid solvent (usually non-polar, as opposed to water which is a polar solvent). Tetrachloroethylene (perchloroethylene), known in the industry as "perc", is the most widely used solvent. Alternative solvents are 1-bromopropane and hydrocarbons. Most natural fibers can be washed in water but some synthetics (e.g.
Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a halocarbon with the formula C2HCl3, commonly used as an industrial degreasing solvent. It is a clear, colourless non-flammable liquid with a chloroform-like sweet smell. The IUPAC name is trichloroethene. Industrial abbreviations include TCE, trichlor, Trike, Tricky and tri. It should not be confused with the similar 1,1,1-trichloroethane, which is commonly known as chlorothene. It has been sold under a variety of trade names.
Organochlorine chemistry is concerned with the properties of organochlorine compounds, or organochlorides, organic compounds containing at least one covalently bonded atom of chlorine. The chloroalkane class (alkanes with one or more hydrogens substituted by chlorine) includes common examples. The wide structural variety and divergent chemical properties of organochlorides lead to a broad range of names, applications, and properties.
Explores the partitioning of organic compounds and their solubility in different phases, considering factors like chain length, size, and halogenation.
Two anaerobic, tetrachloroethene- (PCE-) respiring bacterial isolates, designated strain ACSDCE T and strain ACSTCE, were characterized using a polyphasic approach. Cells were Gram-stain-negative, motile, non-spore-forming and shared a vibrioid- to spirill ...
2023
Amino acids are some of the main building stones of life used in a variety of biological processes, such as protein synthesis, energy metabolism or even as precursors for hormone synthesis. How-ever, some of them also participate and coordinate certain cel ...
Understanding the origins of intrinsic stress in Si nanowires (NWs) is crucial for their successful utilization as transducer building blocks in next-generation, miniaturized sensors based on nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS). With their small size lead ...