Chloroacetaldehyde is the organic compound with the formula ClCH2CHO. Like some related compounds, it is highly electrophilic reagent and a potentially dangerous alkylating agent. The compound is not normally encountered in the anhydrous form, but rather as the hydrate (acetal), ClCH2CH(OH)2. Chloroacetaldehyde is a useful intermediate in the synthesis, e.g. of 2-aminothiazole or many pharmaceutical compounds.
Another use is to facilitate bark removal from tree trunks.
Being bifunctional, chloroacetaldehyde is a versatile precursor to many heterocyclic compounds. It condenses with thiourea derivatives to give aminothiazoles. This reaction was once important as a precursor to sulfathiazole, one of the first sulfa drugs.[1]
Environmental aspects
Chloroacetaldehyde is a metabolite in the degradation of 1,2-dichloroethane, which initially converts to chloroethanol. This metabolic pathway is topical since billions of kilograms of 1,2-dichloroethane have been produced as a precursor to vinyl chloride.[2]
References
^ abReinhard Jira, Erwin Kopp, Blaine C. McKusick, Gerhard Röderer, Axel Bosch, Gerald Fleischmann “Chloroacetaldehydes“ in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, 2007, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. doi:10.1002/14356007.a06_527.pub2
^Janssen, D. B.; van der Ploeg, J. R. and Pries, F., "Genetics and biochemistry of 1,2-dichloroethane degradation", Biodegradation, 1994, 5, 249-57.doi:10.1007/BF00696463
