Chloral hydrate
Also called chloral monohydrate.
A Victorian sedative, the original knockout drops of detective fiction, now almost entirely replaced by safer sleep medicines.
Sources and notes
- The introductionfrom sourceMoleculeFinder curated
- Other namesfrom sourceWikidataIts English label and aliases on Wikidata.
- Formula and weightcomputedPubChem
- 2D drawingcomputedPubChem structure, drawn by RDKit
- 3D modelfrom sourcePubChem 3D conformerLoaded after the page has painted, and on a phone only when you ask for it; the 2D drawing shows until it arrives.
Where you encounter it
Dispensed on prescription, not sold on a shelf.
Sources and notes
- The line abovefrom sourceMoleculeFinder curatedFrom the group the molecule belongs to.
Explore its structure
Choose a part to light it up.
An O-H on a carbon that is not part of an aromatic ring, the group that makes a molecule an alcohol. It both gives and accepts hydrogen bonds, which helps the molecule mix with water.
From: standard chemistry.
Fluorine, chlorine, bromine or iodine bonded to carbon. Each pulls electrons toward itself, and each is larger than the hydrogen the carbon would otherwise carry.
From: standard chemistry.
Sources and notes
- The drawingcomputedPubChem structure, drawn by RDKitThe page's one shipped drawing, with the chosen part lit in amber under it.
- The partscomputedFound by ruleEach part is found by a chemical pattern, never picked by hand atom by atom; its words say where they come from.
Properties and sources
Calculated by PubChem
- Molecular formula
- C2H3Cl3O2
- Molecular weight
- 165.4 g/mol
- XLogP3octanol/water, log units
- 1
- Polar surface areatopological
- 40.5 Ų
- H-bond donors
- 2
- H-bond acceptors
- 2
- Rotatable bonds
- 0
- Complexity
- 56
Measured LD50, HSDB via PubChem
479 mg/kg pure chloral hydrate, rat, oral
An LD50 is an animal study measurement, not a dose for a person.
Reported Hazard label (GHS), ECHA, EU CLP Regulation, Safe Work Australia via PubChem
Danger Toxic pictogram (GHS06) and Irritant pictogram (GHS07); hazard statements H301, H315, H319
Reported Licence
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency licenses Chloral hydrate for human use. MHRA Products
Groups it belongs to
- Category
- Prescription medicine
- Family
- Sleep medicines
- Chemical groups
- Alcohols, Halogenated
- Elements
- Chlorine
- Hazard classes
- Acutely toxic, Irritant, GHS Danger
C(C(Cl)(Cl)Cl)(O)OPubChem CID 2707 · Wikidata Q412340 · InChIKey RNFNDJAIBTYOQL-UHFFFAOYSA-N · Data refreshed
Questions
- What is Chloral hydrate?
- A Victorian sedative, the original knockout drops of detective fiction, now almost entirely replaced by safer sleep medicines.
- How toxic is Chloral hydrate?
- The reported LD50 of Chloral hydrate is 479 mg/kg (rat, oral). An LD50 is an animal study measurement, not a dose for a person. Its GHS hazard label carries the signal word Danger and the hazard pictograms Toxic and Irritant. from sourcefrom source
- What kind of molecule is Chloral hydrate?
- Chloral hydrate has the formula C2H3Cl3O2 and a molecular weight of 165.4 g/mol. MoleculeFinder files it under sleep medicines, in the prescription medicine group. from sourcefrom sourcefrom sourcefrom source
- What else is Chloral hydrate called?
- Chloral hydrate is also called chloral monohydrate. from source
- Who licenses Chloral hydrate as a medicine?
- The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency licenses Chloral hydrate for human use. from source
Sources and notes
- Calculated valuescomputedPubChemComputed from the structure, so no laboratory conditions apply; complexity is PubChem's own structural score.
- LD50from sourceHSDB via PubChemOther values the sources report: rat, on the skin, 3,030 mg/kg. The page shows the one LD50 the site uses everywhere.
- Hazard labelfrom sourceECHA, EU CLP Regulation, Safe Work Australia via PubChemThe label combines these classifications.
- ECHAfrom sourceAttributionSource: European Chemicals Agency, echa.europa.eu.
- EU CLP Regulationfrom sourceAttributionSource: EUR-Lex, Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008, © European Union.
- Safe Work Australiafrom sourceAttributionSource: Safe Work Australia, Hazardous Chemical Information System, © Commonwealth of Australia, CC BY 4.0.
- Licencefrom sourceMHRA ProductsRead 2026-10-21. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Data refreshedfrom sourceMoleculeFinder2026-11-09