Halocarbons

Halocarbon compounds are chemicals in which one or more carbon atoms are linked by covalent bonds with one or more halogen atoms ( fluorine, chlorine, bromine or iodine – ) resulting in the formation of organofluorine compounds, organochlorine compounds, organobromine compounds, and organoiodine compounds. Chlorine halocarbons are the most common and are called organochlorides.

Many synthetic organic compounds such as plastic polymers, and a few natural ones, contain halogen atoms; they are known as ''halogenated'' compounds or ''organohalogens''. Organochlorides are the most common industrially used organohalides, although the other organohalides are used commonly in organic synthesis. Except for extremely rare cases, organohalides are not produced biologically, but many pharmaceuticals are organohalides. Notably, many pharmaceuticals such as Prozac have trifluoromethyl groups.

For information on inorganic halide chemistry, see halide.

Chemical families

Halocarbons are typically classified in the same ways as the similarly structured organic compounds that have hydrogen atoms occupying the molecular sites of the halogen atoms in halocarbons. Among the chemical families are:M. Rossberg et al. “Chlorinated Hydrocarbons” in Ullmann’s Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry 2006, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim.
* haloalkanes—compounds with carbon atoms linked by single bonds
*haloalkenes—compounds with one or more double bonds between carbon atoms
*haloaromatics—compounds with carbons linked in one or more aromatic rings with a delocalised donut shaped pi cloud.
The halogen atoms in halocarbon molecules are often called " substituents," as though those atoms had been substituted for hydrogen atoms. However halocarbons are prepared in many ways that do not involve direct substitution of halogens for hydrogens.

History and context

A few halocarbons are produced in massive amounts by microorganisms. For example, several million tons of methyl bromide are estimated to be produced by marine organisms annually. Most of the halocarbons encountered in everyday life – solvents, medicines, plastics – are man-made. The first synthesis of halocarbons was achieved in the early 1800s. Production began accelerating when their useful properties as solvents and anesthetics were discovered. Development of plastics and synthetic elastomers has led to greatly expanded scale of production. A substantial percentage of drugs are halocarbons.

Natural halocarbons

A large amount of the naturally occurring halocarbons are created by wood fire, dioxine for example, or volcanic activities. A second large source are marine algae which produce several chlorinated methane and ethane containing compounds. There are several thousand complex halocarbons known, produced mainly by marine species. Although chlorine compounds are the majority of the discovered compounds, bromides, iodides and fluorides have also been found. The tyrian purple, which is a dibromoindigo, is representative of the bromides, while the thyroxine secreted from the thyroid gland, is an iodide, and the highly toxic fluoroacetate