The compound is a preservative, sedative, hypnotic and weak local anesthetic similar in nature to chloral hydrate.
[1] Chlorobutanol is typically used at a concentration of 0.5% where it lends long term stability to multi-ingredient formulations.
Chlorobutanol was first synthesized in 1881 by the German chemist Conrad Willgerodt (1841–1930).
[4] Chlorobutanol is formed by the reaction of chloroform and acetone in the presence of potassium or sodium hydroxide.
For the eggs of the fish Oryzias latipes, however, chlorobutanol only acted as an anesthetic.