Greener alternatives for the use of CHCh and CC'4 in undergraduate chemistry practical classes.

Abstract

Green chemistry is an effective approach for pollution prevention. One of the principles of green chemistry is the use or generation of substances that have little or no toxic/harmful effects to human health or environment. CHCh and CCL1 are toxic chemicals that can cause positive impact on the depletion of the ozone layer. Despite this fact, certain experiments included in the undergraduate chemistry practical curriculum still uses (:HCh and CCk A Few examples for such experiments are chlorine water test, for identification of halides, bromine water test for identification of unsaturation of organic compounds and Andrew's titration for the determination of r ions in a sample. The present work describes identification of suitable greener alternatives for CHCh and CCl4 used in the above experiments. Above tests were carried out using cyclohexanes in the place of CHCh and CCl4. The results indicated that cyclohexane can be used as a suitable greener alternative for CHCh and CCl4 used in above-mentioned experiments. When cyclohexane is used sensitivity of the chlorine water test for bromides increases whereas with other tests, results are identical.