Bromochloromethane

Bromochloromethane
Identifiers
CAS number 74-97-5 Y
PubChem 6333
ChemSpider 6093 Y
EC number 200-826-3
KEGG C02661 Y
ChEBI CHEBI:17194 Y
ChEMBL CHEMBL346918 Y
RTECS number PA5250000
Jmol-3D images Image 1
Properties
Molecular formula CH2BrCl
Molar mass 129.38 g/mol
Appearance Colorless to yellow liquid with chloroform-like odor
Density 1.9344 g/cm3 at 20 °C
Melting point

-86.5 °C

Boiling point

68.1 °C

Solubility in water 16.7 g/l
Vapor pressure 15.6 kPa at 20 °C
Hazards
R-phrases R37, R38, R41, R59
S-phrases S26, S39, S59
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Except where noted otherwise, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C, 100 kPa)
Infobox references

Bromochloromethane or methylene bromochloride and Halon 1011 is a mixed halomethane. It is a heavy low-viscosity liquid with refractive index 1.4808.

It was invented for use in fire extinguishers by the Germans during the mid-40s, in an attempt to create a less-toxic, more effective alternative to carbon tetrachloride. This was a concern in aircraft and tanks as carbon tetrachloride produced highly toxic by-products when discharged onto a fire. CBM was slightly less toxic, and used up until the late 1960s, being officially banned by the NFPA for use in fire extinguishers in 1969, as safer and more effective agents such as halon 1211 and 1301 were developed. Due to its ozone depletion potential its production was banned from January 1, 2002, at the Eleventh Meeting of the Parties for the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.

It can be biologically decomposed using hydrolase enzyme alkylhalidase by the reaction:

CH2BrCl (l) + H2O (l) → CH2O (l) + Br2 (l) + Cl2 (g)

In fiction

In the Enter the Matrix video game, the player can find a "Chloro-Bromo Methane Gun", which is used as a fire extinguisher. It fires a pressurized cartridge of CBM gas to put out fires. However, due to its chemical properties, firing a cartridge near people causes their lungs to fill with liquid, effectively drowning them.

External links