...a colorless solid. It has limited use as a
sedative and
hypnotic pharmaceutical drug. It is also a useful laboratory
chemical reagent and precursor. It is derived from
chloral (trichloroacetaldehyde) by the addition of one
equivalent of water. It was discovered in 1832 by
Justus von Liebig in
Gießen when a chlorination (
halogenation) reaction was performed on
ethanol.
[3][4] Its
sedative properties were first published in 1869 and subsequently, because of its easy synthesis, its use was widespread.
[5] It was widely
used recreationally and
prescribed[
further explanation needed] in the late 19th century. Chloral hydrate is soluble in both water and ethanol, readily forming concentrated solutions. A solution of chloral hydrate in ethanol called "knockout drops" was used to prepare a
Mickey Finn.
[6] More reputable uses of chloral hydrate include its use as a clearing agent for
chitin and fibers and as a key ingredient in Hoyer's mounting medium, which is used to prepare permanent or semipermanent microscope slides of small organisms,
histological sections, and
chromosome squashes. Because of its status as a regulated substance, chloral hydrate can be difficult to obtain. This has led to chloral hydrate being replaced by alternative reagents
[7][8] in microscopy procedures.
It is, together with
chloroform, a minor
side-product of the
chlorination of water when organic residues such as
humic acids are present.
That's all I found, you will have to check chemistry sources to find out more detail.
Why not just use CO - are you aiming for 'recreational' ?
