Chloromethane

Chloromethane or methyl chloride is an organic compound containing chlorine. It has the chemical formula . Chloromethane is the simplest organochloride. It has the same structure as methane, but with one hydrogen atom replaced by chlorine.

 Preparation 
Methyl chloride was first made in 1835 using sulfuric acid, sodium chloride, and methanol. Modern production uses a similar method, but uses hydrogen chloride instead of sulfuric acid and salt:

 Uses 
Like many organochlorides, methyl chloride is an alkylating agent: it can add its methyl group to other chemicals, called methylation. The main use for methyl chloride is the direct process to make organosilicon compounds. Dimethyldichlorosilane, a monomer used to make silicone, is the most important compound made from this process.

It may also be used to make methyllithium and methylmagnesium chloride, two other methylating agents. Methyllithium made from methyl chloride is purer than when made from methyl bromide, because lithium chloride is less soluble in the ether solvents used to store methyllithium.

Methyl chloride was historically used as a refrigerant called Freon-40.

 Sources 

Category:Organochlorides
Category:Methane derivatives
Category:Methyl compounds