Panache - 28-5-2022 at 01:08
Solid Koh and dcm should never be mixed, what's the understood pathway for this beaker go boom sequence.
Does it hold for aqueous Koh solutions?
Texium - 28-5-2022 at 05:48
It’s well documented that chloroform reacts with bases, including aqueous hydroxides, to eliminate HCl and generate dichlorocarbene. Although DCM is
not as acidic as chloroform, it’s likely that an analogous reaction to form chlorocarbene is possible, though I can’t find a solid reference with
experimental evidence to support that.
woelen - 28-5-2022 at 06:21
I have done that actual experiment with KOH (or NaOH) and CH2Cl2. I added the solid, also did experiments with solutions and with mixes with alcohol.
No reaction occurs at all.
AvBaeyer - 28-5-2022 at 18:11
I have run alkylation reactions using powdered KOH in DCM at ice bath temps with no problems.
AvB
Texium - 28-5-2022 at 18:39
Good to know then that that advice is likely based on an incorrect assumption that DCM would react with bases in the same way as chloroform. It’s
aggravating how those sort of rumors spread and can even become “conventional wisdom.”