Method for Small-Scale Production of Deuterochloroform.

Deuterochloroform (CDCl3) is a common deuterated solvent for nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analyses. The synthesis of significant amounts of CDCl3 for both research use and large undergraduate organic laboratories in a safe and inexpensive manner is appealing. Herein, we describe a convenient laboratory scale preparation of CDCl3 that employs a reduction and decarboxylation of hexachloro-2-propanone (HCP) catalyzed by various pyridines. A PVP catalyst gives cleaner reaction and greater catalyst stability through multiple rounds of recycling, justifying its higher cost compared to pyridine.