1,1,1,2-Tetrachloroethane is a chlorinated hydrocarbon. It is a colorless liquid with a sweet chloroform-like odor. It is used as a solvent and in the production of wood stains and varnishes. It is an isomer of 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane.
It was likely discovered by Auguste Laurent along with the 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane isomer and trichloroethylene in 1836. 1,1,1,2-Tetrachloroethane was named "perchloride of formyl" in Leopold Gmelin's Hand-book of Chemistry, the same name was also used for chloroform.
1,1,1,2-Tetrachloroethane can be obtained by a two-step addition reaction of acetylene with chlorine (via dichloroethylene), but this mainly produces 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane.
It can be obtained directly by chlorination of 1,1,2-trichloroethane:
IARC has classified 1,1,1,2-tetrachloroethane as a possible carcinogen for humans in 2014.