Tetrachloroethylene

Tetrachloroethylene, also known under the systematic name tetrachloroethene, or perchloroethylene ("perc" or "PERC"), and many other names, 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 has a sweet odor detectable by most people at a concentration of 1 part per million (1 ppm). Worldwide production was about one million metric tons in 1985.

Production

Michael Faraday first synthesized tetrachloroethylene in 1821 by thermal decomposition of hexachloroethane.

Most tetrachloroethylene is produced by high temperature chlorinolysis of light hydrocarbons. The method is related to Faraday's discovery 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:

Tetrachloroethylene (data page)

This page provides supplementary chemical data on tetrachloroethylene.

Material Safety Data Sheet

The handling of this chemical may incur notable safety precautions. It is highly recommended that you seek the Material Safety Datasheet (MSDS) for this chemical from a reliable source such as SIRI, and follow its directions. MSDS is available from Fisher Scientific.

Structure and properties

Thermodynamic properties

Vapor pressure of liquid

Table data obtained from CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics 47th ed. Note that "(s)" annotation indicates equilibrium temperature of vapor pressure of solid. Otherwise indication is equilibrium temperature of vapor of liquid.

Distillation data

See also

Spectral data

References

Except where noted otherwise, data relate to standard ambient temperature and pressure.

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