Why is acetone used over isopropanol for making chloroform? Why does isopropanol not work as well?DraconicAcid - 16-12-2018 at 14:54
With isopropanol, you have to use an extra equivalent of iodine to oxidize the alcohol to acetone.VSEPR_VOID - 16-12-2018 at 16:31
Why iodine DraconicAcid - 16-12-2018 at 17:06
Damn- thinking of the iodoform reaction. I just mean you have to use more oxidizer.Jackson - 17-12-2018 at 08:09
Are more unwanted side products formed from isopropanol?
Would it be better to use calium hypochlorite from a pool supply store if using isopropanol to make chloroform. I cant find a source of acetone paint
thinner and all the acetone nail polish removes have dyes that react with bleach to turn red and cause a very caustic smell.
Edited to add second question
[Edited on 12/17/2018 by Jackson]Sulaiman - 17-12-2018 at 09:19
Why is acetone used over isopropanol for making chloroform?
In my case it was because acetone is easier and costs about the same as propanol via eBay (in my case uk, similar available via eBay USA)
Even though you may only want a little for your chloroform,
acetone is a very useful solvent.
After more than four years hobby chemistry I recently bought my first litre of propanol,
I'm on my third litre of acetone.
Reminder :
The reaction is very exothermic so use chilled dilute hypochlorite solution
or have lots of ice ready.Jackson - 18-12-2018 at 08:40
Ive tryed running it with both. Both times i prechilled both the bleach and the isopropanol/acetone and mixted in an icebath. With the isopropanol it
never produced a bottom layer of chloroform. Recently the formulation of acetone nail polish remover that is avaliable to me changed and no longer
works. I was also having problems with the one time i did mske it because it seemed to form an emmulsion with the brine solutions i was drying it
with.Nakhimov - 18-12-2018 at 09:20
Haloform reactions proceed through a keto-enol tautomer, which requires a carbonyl (i.e., not an alcohol.) I'll provide a mechanism to explain if
you're interested. Jackson - 18-12-2018 at 10:09
Note that this explains a bit why the acetone precursor is preferable to isopropanol! It's that much easier for the carbonyl carbon to pull the
electrons into the enolate form compared to the carbon on the alcohol.
