Chloropicrin (redirected from Chlorpicrin)

chloropicrin (klōr'əpĭk`rĭn), colorless oily liquid used as a poison gas. It is a powerful irritant, causing lachrymation, vomiting, bronchitis, and pulmonary edema; lung injury from chloropicrin may result in death. Trace amounts in the air cause a burning sensation in the eyes, which serves as a warning of exposure. Chloropicrin is more toxic than chlorine but less toxic than phosgene. It is relatively inert and does not react with the chemicals commonly used in gas masks. It has been extensively used as a vomiting gas by the military. It is also used industrially in small amounts as a warning agent in commercial fumigants and as an insecticide and disinfectant for grain. Chloropicrin has the formula CCl₃NO₂. It boils at 112°C; with partial decomposition to phosgene and nitrosyl chloride.

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chloropicrin [‚klȯr·ō′pik·rən]

(inorganic chemistry)

CCl₃NO₂A colorless liquid with a sweet odor whose vapor is very irritating to the lungs and causes vomiting, coughing, and crying; used as a soil fumigant. Also known as nitrochloroform; trichloronitromethane.

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Chloropicrin 

(also trichloronitromethane), CCl₃NO₂, a colorless, oily liquid, with a pungent odor. Chloropicrin has a melting point of –64°C, a boiling point of 112.3°C, and a density of 1.6539 g/cm³ (at 20°C). A strong lacrimator, it is practically insoluble in water but is readily soluble in organic solvents. It is not hydrolyzed by water and alkaline aqueous solutions and may be steam-distilled. Alkaline alcohol solutions and aqueous alcohol solutions of Na₂S rapidly and quantitatively decompose chloropicrin, which at 400°C decomposes into phosgene and ClNO. Chloropicrin is produced by the chlorination of picric acid and its salts.

The minimal active concentration of chloropicrin is 0.002 mg/liter, and the intolerable concentration, 0.05 mg/liter (for 2 min); in large concentrations, it has an asphyxiating effect. Chloropicrin was used as a poison gas during World War I (1914–18). Presently it is used for checking gas masks and as a war gas for military training.

R. N. STERLIN