General Description
Bright yellow or yellow powder or crystals. Penetrating odor. Unctuous touch. Odor threshold 0.4 ppb.
Reactivity Profile
IODOFORM(75-47-8) decomposes at high temperatures. Decomposes slowly in light at room temperature. Reacts violently with lithium. Is incompatible with mercuric oxide, calomel, silver nitrate, tannin, and balsam Peru. Is also incompatible with strong bases, strong oxidizing agents and magnesium. Vigorous reactions occur with acetone in the presence of solid potassium hydroxide or calcium hydroxide, hexamethylenetetramine at 352° F, mercury(I) fluoride and finely divided reduced silver.
Air & Water Reactions
Insoluble in water.
Hazard
Irritant. Decomposes violently at 400F
(204C).
Fire Hazard
Literature sources indicate that this chemical is nonflammable.
Chemical Properties
Iodoform is a yellow or greenish-yellow powder or crystalline
solid that is volatile with steam and contains 96.69%
iodine. It has a very characteristic pungent odor. An odor
threshold of 0.005 ppm has been reported.
Chemical Properties
yellow solid with a characteristic pungent and
Uses
Iodoform has limited use as a chemical intermediate and for
medicinal purposes as disinfectant and antiseptic and has
been used in veterinary medicine.
Uses
It is used as a topical anti-infective, applied to the skin.
Uses
Triiodomethane is a crystalline compound commonly used as a disinfectant. It can be used in the process of removing heavy metals such as mercury from fuids.
Definition
A yellow crystalline
compound made by warming ethanal with
an alkaline solution of an iodide:
CH3CHO + 3I– + 4OH– → CHI3 +
HCOO– + 3H2O
The reaction also occurs with all ketones of
general formula CH3COR (R is an alkyl
group) and with secondary alcohols
CH3CH(OH)R. Iodoform is used as a test
for such reactions (the iodoform reaction).
Health Hazard
Iodoform causes central nervous
system depression and damage to the kidneys,
liver, and heart.
Biochem/physiol Actions
Iodoform is an iodine containing compound, which is used in antiseptic applications in the medical and veterinary medicine fields. Iodoform improves fermentation in the biomass ensilage conversion system by improving lactic acid production and inhibiting butyric fermentation.
Carcinogenicity
Iodoform has been included in
the NCI daily bioassay program. According to their
summary: the high and low time-weighted average daily
dosages of iodoform were, respectively, 142 and 71 mg/kg
for male rats, 55 and 27 mg/kg for female rats, and 93 and
47 mg/kg for male and female mice. A significant positive
association between dosage and mortality was observed in
male rats but not in female rats or in mice of either sex.
Adequate numbers of animals in all groups survived sufficiently
long to be at risk from late-developing tumors. No
statistical significance could be attributed to the incidences of
any neoplasms in rats or mice of either sex when compared
to their respective controls. Under the conditions of this
bioassay, no convincing evidence was provided for the
carcinogenicity of iodoform in Osborne–Mendel rats or
B6C3F1 mice.
Purification Methods
Crystallise it from MeOH, EtOH or EtOH/EtOAc. It is steam volatile. It is a disinfectant. [Beilstein 1 IV 97.]
