Chloral

Chloral, a colourless pungent liquid, boiling at 99.6i°, sp. gr. 1.5, was first prepared by Liebig by passing chlorine gas into absolute alcohol. In composition it is closely allied to aldehyde, consisting of trichloraldehyde, CCl₃CHO. With water it forms a compound chloral hydrate, CCl₃CHO + OH₂, which crystallises in small tablets of the monoclinic system.