Carbon Tetrachloride is a clear, colorless, and highly volatile liquid with a sweet odor that smells slightly like chloroform. It was historically used in fire extinguishers and as a cleaning fluid, but its use is now heavily restricted due to its extreme toxicity.
Because CCl₄ is non-polar, it does not dissolve in water (which is polar). If you mix CCl₄ and water in a beaker, they will separate into two distinct layers, with the heavier CCl₄ sinking to the bottom.
The chemical formula for carbon tetrachloride is CCl₄.
Breaking down the name:
Other chemical names for it include Tetrachloromethane (IUPAC name), Halon-104, and Freon-10.
Carbon has 4 valence electrons, and it needs 4 more to complete its octet. Chlorine has 7 valence electrons and needs 1 more.
Therefore, one central Carbon atom forms four single covalent bonds with four Chlorine atoms.
Because the four chlorine atoms mutually repel each other equally, they spread out as far away from each other as possible, giving CCl₄ a perfect 3D Tetrahedral geometry with bond angles of exactly 109.5°.
This is a classic chemistry exam question.
Even though the C-Cl bonds themselves are highly polar (because Chlorine is much more electronegative than Carbon and pulls the electrons towards itself), the CCl₄ molecule as a whole is NON-POLAR.
Why? Because of its perfectly symmetrical tetrahedral shape. The four chlorine atoms pull the electrons equally in exactly opposite directions. The polarities cancel each other out completely, resulting in a net dipole moment of zero.
It is extremely dangerous. When carbon tetrachloride is exposed to high heat (like a fire), it reacts with the oxygen in the air to form **Phosgene gas** (COCl₂), which is a highly lethal chemical weapon used in World War I.
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