What is the Formula for Dichloromethane ?

What is Dichloromethane?

Known as DCM or methylene chloride it is an organochloride compound and have the formula:

CH2Cl2.

The basic properties is that it is volatile, colourless with a chloroform like odour and is widely used as a solvent. It is polar and it is not water miscible.However it is highly miscible with other organic solvents. The occurrence of Dichloromethane is that in natural sources like wetlands and volcanoes. However the major occurrence of it is from factory or industrial emissions. It is a reducing agent.

  CL

                   |

         H——C ——CL

                   |

                  H

How do we produce it?

DCM is widely produced by methane treatment with chlorine gas at the temperature of 400-500 degrees C. In this high temperatures both methane and chloromethane go through a series of reactions and thus produce chlorinated products. So in a way they are produced in a great amount almost 400,000 tonnes throughout the US, Europe and Japan.

The end result is that the process involves mix of chloromethane, dichloromethane, chloroform and carbon tetrachloride as well as HCL as a byproduct. We can separate these compounds by the process of distillation.

History: DCM Was first prepared by french chemist Victor Renault in the year 1839. He did an experiment where he separated or isolated a mixture of chlorine or chloromethane that were exposed to the sunlight effects.

Uses of DCM:

  1. Hydrogen Bonding: DCM can be used for hydrogen Bonding- It is a Lewis acid which can bond hydrogen for electron donors. This is a hard acid and included in the ECW model. It is also a solvent used for many studies on thermodynamics of donor accepting bonding.
  2. DCM is highly volatile and it has the ability to dissolve a good amount of organic compounds. Hence it is used as a chemical solvent for many chemical process.
  3. In the food industry it is used for flavouring too. Since it is highly volatile and it has been used as an aerosol spray propellent and for polyurethane foams.
  4. Special uses- It can be used as a paint stripper and also it can weld certain plastics. For example- It can help seal electric cables, meters, and also it is one of the main ingredients of adhesives used for welding. It can also be used for joining plastic components together.
  5. It is used for garment industry and also bubble lights.
  6. When we take DCM extract for a seaweed fodder for cattle it has been found to reduce the methane emission by over 70 percent.
  7. DCM has low boiling point and and it allows the chemical to function in an engine that can take mechanical energy.
  8. One of the most widely use for DCM is that it is extensively used in civil engineering and as a drug for testing for certain materials as a solvent. This is used to separate the binders. It helps in testing of the materials.

Environmental effects of DCM:

Although it is not considered as an ozone deleting substance, this is because the lifeline for there DCM in the atmosphere is very short and hence the it will decompose before reaching the ozone layer.

Toxicity for DCM: IT is the least toxic of all he chlorohydrocarbons. However it can have serious health effects. Since it is highly volatile it can have acute inhalation hazard. The skin can absorb it.

Now in people with existing heart conditions DCM can cause some abnormal hearth problems and heart attacks. Existing heart related problems can cause the DCM to make it even more worse and can also be fatal. It can also be carcinogenic and can cause lung cancer as well effect the liver, pancreas and others.  There are some symptoms where if DCM is overexposed to humans then there is inhalation problems, headaches, numbness, weaknesses, respiratory irritation, eyes irritation, dizziness and also concentration problems. If the effects are severe then it can make one get suffocated, coma and consciousness loss and even fatal.  In the body DCM is also metabolised to being Carbon monoxide and then carbon monoxide poisoning. If there are acute exposures then it results to optical problems and even hepatitis. There might be skin irritation and chemical problems.

Is DCM acidic or Basic?Here acid base extraction is a type of extraction of liquid versus liquid. It involves solubility levels in water and organic solvents. The solvents may be carbon based and it will not dissolve in water. The common examples are ether, DCM or ethyl acetate.

Refer: Haloalkanes And Haloarenes from Class 12 Chemistry English Medium – Find All the Questions & Answers

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