Tetrachloroethylene

Description

Colorless, chlorinated hydrocarbon with an ether-like odor. Tetrachloroethylene (TCE) was first prepared by Faraday in 1921. It is currently used as a dry-cleaning solvent and as a vapor-degreaser for metals. TCE is a suspected carcinogen.

Synonyms and Related Terms

TCE; tetrachloroethene; ethylene tetrachloride; perchloroethylene; Perclene; Vaclene [DuPont]

Chemical structure

Physical and Chemical Properties

Miscible in ethanol, ether, chloroform, benzene. Insoluble in water.

Composition	Cl2C:CCl2
CAS	127-18-4
Melting Point	22 C
Density	1.6230 g/ml
Molecular Weight	mol. wt.= 165.83 .
Refractive Index	1.5055
Boiling Point	121 C

Risks

• Irritating to eyes and skin.
• Potential carcinogen.
• Dangerous to the environment.
• Nonflammable, but may decompose in the presence of flames or UV light to form toxic fumes (phosgene, hydrogen chloride).
• ThermoFisher: SDS

Resources and Citations

• Richard S. Lewis, Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993

• Hermann Kuhn, Conservation and Restoration of Works of Art and Antiquities, Butterworths, London, 1986

• Rosalie Rosso King, Textile Identification, Conservation, and Preservation, Noyes Publications, Park Ridge, NJ, 1985

• Michael McCann, Artist Beware, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York City, 1979

• Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997

• The Merck Index, Martha Windholz (ed.), Merck Research Labs, Rahway NJ, 10th edition, 1983 Comment: entry 9332; ref. index=1.5055

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998

• CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, Robert Weast (ed.), CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, v. 61, 1980 Comment: ref. index=1.504