hexachloroethane

[ hek-suh-klawr-oh-eth-eyn, -klohr- ]

noun

1. a colorless crystalline compound, C 2 Cl 6 , with a camphorlike odor, soluble in alcohol and ether, insoluble in water: used in organic synthesis and pyrotechnics, as a retarding agent in fermentation, and as a solvent.

hexachloroethane

/ ˌhɛksəˌklɔːrəʊˈɛθeɪn /

noun

1. a colourless crystalline insoluble compound with a camphor-like odour: used in pyrotechnics and explosives. Formula: C 2 Cl 6

Word History and Origins

Origin of hexachloroethane¹

First recorded in 1895–1900; hexa- + chloroethane

Example Sentences

Water can react with hexachloroethane and zinc oxide to explode and make a bad situation much worse.

From Salon

During the interwar years, scientists stabilized the smoke canister by replacing carbon tetrachloride with hexachloroethane, or HC.

From Salon

Never before in a merger, Dow has a good reason for this one: it wants a West Coast branch,* and Great Western offers that as well as exclusive rights to cheap processes of making chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, hexachloroethane.

From Time Magazine Archive