View source for Bromochloromethane

{{chembox
| verifiedrevid = 322006089
| ImageFileL1 = Bromochloromethane.svg
| ImageSizeL1 = 100px
| ImageFileR1 = Bromochloromethane-3D-sf.png
| ImageSizeR1 = 
| IUPACName = Bromochloromethane
| OtherNames = Monochloromonobromomethane, Bromo(chloro)methane, Chloromethyl bromide, Methylene chlorobromide, Methylene bromochloride, Borothene, Halon 1011, BCM, CBM, UN 1887
| Section1 = {{Chembox Identifiers
|   ChemSpiderID = 6093
| InChIKey = JPOXNPPZZKNXOV-UHFFFAOYAI
| CASNo = 74-97-5
|    CASNo_Ref = {{cascite}}
|   EINECS = 200-826-3
|   PubChem = 6333
|   SMILES = BrCCl
|   InChI = 1/CH2BrCl/c2-1-3/h1H2
|   RTECS = PA5250000
|   KEGG = C02661
|   ChEBI = 17194
  }}
| Section2 = {{Chembox Properties
|   Formula = CH<sub>2</sub>BrCl
|   MolarMass = 129.38 g/mol
|   Appearance = Colorless to yellow liquid with chloroform-like odor
|   Density = 1.9344 g/cm<sup>3</sup> at 20 °C
|   MeltingPt = -86.5 °C
|   BoilingPt = 68.1 °C
|   Solubility = 16.7 g/l
|   VaporPressure = 15.6 kPa at 20 °C
  }}
| Section3 = {{Chembox Hazards
|   MainHazards = 
|   FlashPt = 
|   Autoignition = 
|   RPhrases = {{R37}}, {{R38}}, {{R41}}, {{R59}}
|   SPhrases = {{S26}}, {{S39}}, {{S59}}
  }}
}}

'''Bromochloromethane''' or '''methylene bromochloride''' and '''Halon 1011''' is a mixed [[halomethane]]. It is a heavy low-viscosity liquid with [[refractive index]] 1.4808.

It was invented for use in fire extinguishers by the Germans during the mid-40s, in an attempt to create a less-toxic, more effective alternative to carbon tetrachloride. This was a concern in aircraft and tanks as carbon tetrachloride produced highly toxic by-products when discharged onto a fire. CBM was slightly less toxic, and used up until the late 1960s, being officially banned by the NFPA for use in fire extinguishers in 1969, as safer and more effective agents such as halon 1211 and 1301 were developed. Due to its [[ozone depletion potential]] its production was banned from 1 January 2002 at the ''Eleventh Meeting of the Parties for the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer''. 

[[File:Aircraft A-20 CBM.jpg|thumb|A 1950s US CBM fire extinguisher.]]

It can be biologically decomposed using [[hydrolase]] enzyme alkylhalidase by the reaction:

:CH<sub>2</sub>BrCl (l) + [[Water|H<sub>2</sub>O]] (l) → [[Formaldehyde|CH<sub>2</sub>O]] (l) + [[Bromine|Br<sub>2</sub>]] (l) + [[Chlorine|Cl<sub>2</sub>]] (g)

==In fiction==

In the [[Enter the Matrix]] video game, the player can find a "Chloro-Bromo Methane Gun", which is used as a fire extinguisher.  It fires a pressurized cartridge of CBM gas to put out fires.  However, due to its chemical properties, firing a cartridge near people causes their lungs to fill with liquid, effectively drowning them.

==External links==
* {{ICSC|0392|03}}
* {{PGCH|0123}}
* [http://ptcl.chem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/BR/bromochloromethane.html MSDS at Oxford University]
* [http://ptcl.chem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/BR/bromochloromethane-d2.html MSDS at Oxford University (deuterated bromochloromethane)]
* [http://www.ec.gc.ca/ozone/docs/regulations/odsr/cepa/NPBB/EN/n-propyl_notice_intro.cfm Notice with Respect to n-Propyl Bromide and Bromochloromethane]
* [http://www.speclab.com/compound/c74975.htm Chemical fact sheet]
* [http://www.albemarle.com/TDS/Fine_chemistry_services/BC0009F_Brchloromethane.pdf Data sheet at arbemarle.com]

{{Halomethanes}}

[[Category:Halomethanes]]
[[Category:Fire suppression agents]]
[[Category:Ozone depletion]]
[[Category:Organobromides]]
[[Category:Organochlorides]]

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[[Category:2Fix]]