---
title: "Haloform (iodoform) reaction Template | MolDraw"
url: https://www.moldraw.com/templates/haloform-reaction/
description: "Haloform (iodoform) reaction template: Enolate formation and iodination (three times), then hydroxide adds and expels CI₃⁻; proton transfer gives benzoate…"
lang: en
publisher: Scidart Academy
generated: 2026-10-28
---
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# Haloform (iodoform) reaction template

![Haloform (iodoform) reaction template: Enolate formation and iodination (three times), then hydroxide adds and expels CI₃⁻; proton transfer gives benzoate and yellow iodoform.](https://www.moldraw.com/templates/haloform-reaction.webp)

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Enolate formation and iodination (three times), then hydroxide adds and expels CI₃⁻; proton transfer gives benzoate and yellow iodoform.

## Mechanism step by step

A methyl ketone is triiodinated in base, then cleaved to a carboxylate and CHI₃

1. **Enolate** – Hydroxide removes an α-H
2. **Iodination** – Repeated twice more, each time faster (I makes the C–H more acidic)
3. **Hydroxide adds** – Attack on the triiodomethyl ketone
4. **C–C cleavage** – CI₃⁻ is a good leaving group
5. **Proton transfer** – Iodoform precipitates as a yellow solid

## Key points

- Iodoform test: a yellow precipitate shows CH₃C=O or CH₃CH(OH) (ethanol gives it too).
- Each iodine makes the next α-H more acidic, so the CH₃ is fully iodinated.
- With Cl₂ or Br₂ the same reaction gives chloroform or bromoform.
- A route from methyl ketones to carboxylic acids with one carbon fewer.

Drawn with 144 atoms, 16 arrows, 7 shapes – every one editable in MolDraw.

## Sources

- [Clayden, Greeves & Warren, Organic Chemistry, 2nd ed., OUP 2012](https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9780199270293) Textbook

## How to use this template

1. Press **Edit in MolDraw**. The template opens on the canvas of the free MolDraw editor.
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## Frequently asked questions

### Is the Haloform (iodoform) reaction template free?

You can preview the Haloform (iodoform) reaction template here and open and edit it in MolDraw for free. Downloading or exporting it is part of MolDraw Pro, together with the other premium templates.

### Can I edit the Haloform (iodoform) reaction template?

Yes. It opens as an ordinary MolDraw drawing, so every structure, arrow, label and colour can be changed, and you can add your own content around it.

### Is the chemistry checked?

Every structure is checked with RDKit and every curly arrow passes MolDraw’s electron-flow audit. The sources used are listed on this page.

### Which name reactions are included?

Over seventy, covering the reactions most often asked in school-leaving exams (A-level, IB, CBSE, JEE and NEET) and first-year university courses, including condensations, rearrangements, oxidations, reductions and aromatic substitutions.

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