Gaurav
Last Activity: 10 Years ago
The iodoform test or reaction is a chemical reaction where iodoform (CHI3) is produced by the multiple halogenation of a methyl ketone (a molecule containing the R-CO-CH3 group) in the presence of a base . R may be H, alkyl or aryl. The reaction can be used to produce CHCl3, CHBr3 or CHI3.
In analytical chemistry, this reaction was traditionally used to determine the presence of a methyl ketone, or a secondary alcohol oxidizable to a methyl ketone through the the iodoform test. Nowadays, spectroscopic techniques such as NMR and infrared spectroscopy are preferred because they require small samples, may be non-destructive (for NMR) and are easy and quick to perform.
Formerly, it was used to produce iodoform and bromoform and even chloroform industrially.
In organic chemistry, this reaction may be used to convert a terminal methyl ketone into the appropriate carboxylic acid.