# Chloroform, CHCl3

Chloroform (CHCl3) is a volatile, colorless, and sweet-smelling organic compound. Historically, it was used as an anesthetic; however, due to its potential health hazards and the development of safer alternatives, its use in this capacity has been discontinued. In modern applications, chloroform is predominantly used as a solvent in laboratories and in the production of the refrigerant freon. It is also a precursor in the manufacture of hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) refrigerants. When exposed to light and air, chloroform can undergo a reaction to produce phosgene, a highly toxic compound. Thus, commercial chloroform bottles typically contain stabilizers to prevent this reaction.

## Other names

- Trichloromethane
- Formyl trichloride
- Methane trichloride
- Methyl trichloride
- Methenyl trichloride
- TCM
- Freon 20
- Refrigerant-20
- R-20
- UN 1888

## External links

- Chloroform - Wikipedia
- Methane, trichloro- - NIST Chemistry WebBook