Question

War gas is:
A. chloretone
B. ethyl carbonate
C. chloropicrin
D. methylene chloride

Answer 1

We know that War gas is a chemical which was used during World War I. This gas acts as a chemical weapon as it causes irritation of eyes and tearing when used in small quantities. This gas is also used as tear gas.

Complete step by step answer:
Let’s identify the war gas from the given options.
Option A says war gas is chloretone. The other names of chloretone are chlorobutyl or chlorobutanol. It is used as a preservative. Its nature is similar to chloral hydrate. It possesses antifungal and antibacterial properties. Its chemical formula is ${{\rm{C}}_{\rm{4}}}{{\rm{H}}_{\rm{7}}}{\rm{C}}{{\rm{l}}_{\rm{3}}}{\rm{O}}$.
Option B says war gas is ethyl carbonate. Ethyl carbonate is an organic compound whose chemical formula is ${\left( {{\rm{C}}{{\rm{H}}_{\rm{2}}}{\rm{O}}} \right)_2}{\rm{CO}}$. It is used as a component in lithium ion batteries. It is also used as a plasticizer.
Option C says war gas is chloropicrin. Chloropicrin is the chemical compound whose chemical formula is ${\rm{C}}{{\rm{l}}_{\rm{3}}}{\rm{CN}}{{\rm{O}}_{\rm{2}}}$. It is used as fungicide, insecticide, herbicide etc. It was discovered during World War I by a chemist of Scotland whose name is John Stenhouse. He manufactured it by reacting sodium hypochlorite with picric acid.
${\rm{HO}}{{\rm{C}}_{\rm{6}}}{{\rm{H}}_{\rm{2}}}{\left( {{\rm{N}}{{\rm{O}}_{\rm{2}}}} \right)_{\rm{3}}} + 11{\rm{NaOCl}} \to {\rm{3C}}{{\rm{l}}_3}{\rm{CN}}{{\rm{O}}_{\rm{2}}} + 3{\rm{N}}{{\rm{a}}_{\rm{2}}}{\rm{C}}{{\rm{O}}_{\rm{3}}} + 3{\rm{NaOH}} + {\rm{2NaCl}}$
It acts as poison gas during World War I. So, it is named as war gas.
Option D is methylene chloride. It is a colorless, clear liquid possessing a slightly sweet scent that is used primarily as an industrial solvent and also as a paint thinner and potent paint stripper.
Thus, option C is the correct answer.

Note: Nowadays, chloropicrin is prepared by reacting chloroform with nitric acid.
${\rm{CHC}}{{\rm{l}}_{\rm{3}}} + {\rm{HN}}{{\rm{O}}_{\rm{3}}} \to {\rm{CC}}{{\rm{l}}_{\rm{3}}}{\rm{N}}{{\rm{O}}_{\rm{2}}} + {{\rm{H}}_{\rm{2}}}{\rm{O}}$
Besides its use as poison gas it is also used in agriculture. It affects a broad spectrum of fungi, microbes, insects etc. It is also used as a repellent and an indicator.