Chloroacetyl Chloride CAS 79-04-9
Chelora Chemicals is a supplier of high-purity Chloroacetyl Chloride, shipping worldwide to API manufacturers, agrochemical producers and fine chemical plants. Every consignment leaves with a batch-specific COA, the current SDS and full dangerous-goods documentation.
Also known as: CAC · Chloroacetic acid chloride · Chloracetyl chloride · Monochloroacetyl chloride · MCAC
Request a quotation
Price, lead time and a sample COA for Chloroacetyl Chloride, usually within one working day. We ship worldwide.
Request a Quote Email the DeskDocumentation
- Batch-specific COA
- Safety Data Sheet (SDS)
- Technical Data Sheet
- Dangerous-goods papers (UN 1752)
- Certificate of origin
What is Chloroacetyl Chloride?
Chloroacetyl chloride is ClCH2COCl — an acid chloride carrying a chlorine on the adjacent carbon. That combination is what makes it so productive: the acyl chloride end acylates an amine or an alcohol, and the chloromethyl end is left in place as a handle for a second substitution. Two reactive sites, used in sequence.
It is a clear, colourless to pale yellow fuming liquid boiling at 105–106 °C, with a pungent, acrid odour and strong lachrymatory action. It hydrolyses on contact with water to chloroacetic acid and hydrogen chloride, so moisture exclusion is central to handling it.
Its signature downstream products are the local anaesthetics and anti-inflammatories built on a chloroacetamide intermediate — lidocaine is the textbook example — and the chloroacetanilide herbicide family, which accounts for a very large share of world demand.
Commercially it is a mid-volume reagent with a demanding safety profile. It is acutely toxic by inhalation as well as corrosive, which places it in a higher dangerous-goods packing group than most acid chlorides and shapes how it is packed, shipped and handled at site.
Why chloroacetyl chloride specifically
- Two reactive sites in sequence. Acylate first with the acid chloride, substitute second at the chloromethyl carbon. That two-step logic is the basis of the lidocaine route and of chloroacetanilide herbicide chemistry.
- Builds the chloroacetamide fragment in one step. Reaction with an aniline or amine gives the chloroacetamide directly, with no protecting group work.
- Reliable and fast acylation. A highly reactive acid chloride, so the acylation runs under mild conditions and quickly — which also means it needs controlling.
- Gaseous by-product. Hydrogen chloride leaves the system or is scrubbed, so there is no inorganic salt to filter when an acid scavenger is not used.
How CAC is Manufactured
Chloroacetyl chloride is made by chlorinating acetyl chloride or, more commonly, by converting chloroacetic acid to its acid chloride.
- From chloroacetic acid. Chloroacetic acid is treated with thionyl chloride or phosgene to give the acid chloride. The principal commercial route, and the reason thionyl chloride and chloroacetyl chloride demand often sit in the same plant.
- Chlorination of acetyl chloride. Direct chlorination at the methyl carbon, controlled to stop at the mono-chlorinated stage.
- Ketene route. Ketene reacted with chlorine gives chloroacetyl chloride, used where a ketene stream is already available.
- Over-chlorination control. The main process challenge is stopping at mono-substitution. Dichloroacetyl chloride is the recurring impurity and the figure that distinguishes grades.
- Fractional distillation. Purified by distillation under dry conditions; low-colour and pharmaceutical grades are distilled harder and filled with moisture excluded.
Typical Commercial Specification
Figures below are representative of standard commercial grade. Pharmaceutical grades with tighter dichloro and colour limits are available — send us the specification you work to and we will quote against it.
| Parameter | Typical Value |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Clear colourless to pale yellow fuming liquid |
| Assay (GC) | 99.0% min |
| Dichloroacetyl chloride | 0.5% max |
| Acetyl chloride | 0.2% max |
| Chloroacetic acid | 0.3% max |
| Free HCl | 0.2% max |
| Colour (APHA) | 50 max |
| Non-volatile residue | 0.02% max |
| Iron (Fe) | 5 ppm max |
| Boiling range | 104 – 107 °C |
| Density at 20 °C | 1.415 – 1.425 g/cm³ |
Physical & Chemical Properties
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Molecular formula | ClCH2COCl |
| Molecular weight | 112.94 g/mol |
| Appearance | Clear colourless to pale yellow fuming liquid |
| Odour | Pungent, acrid; strongly lachrymatory |
| Melting point | approx. −22 °C |
| Boiling point | approx. 105 – 106 °C at 760 mmHg |
| Relative density | approx. 1.42 g/cm³ at 20 °C |
| Flash point | approx. 68 °C (closed cup) |
| Reaction with water | Hydrolyses to chloroacetic acid and hydrogen chloride |
| Solubility | Miscible with most dry aprotic organic solvents; reacts with water and alcohols |
| Functionality | Acyl chloride plus a primary alkyl chloride on the adjacent carbon |
| Incompatibilities | Water, alcohols, amines, strong bases, oxidising agents, dimethyl sulphoxide |
| Decomposition products | Hydrogen chloride, phosgene, carbon monoxide, chlorinated fragments |
Reactivity in practice
An acid chloride and an alkyl chloride on adjacent carbons, with very different reactivities. That difference is what makes the sequence work:
- Acylation of amines. Reaction with an aniline or alkylamine gives the chloroacetamide, fast and under mild conditions. The chloromethyl group survives untouched.
- Substitution at the chloromethyl carbon. The remaining chlorine is then displaced by an amine, an alkoxide or another nucleophile — the second step in the lidocaine and herbicide routes.
- Esterification. Alcohols give chloroacetate esters, used as intermediates and as alkylating agents.
- Friedel-Crafts acylation. With a Lewis acid it acylates aromatics to give chloromethyl ketones, a route into further heterocyclic chemistry.
- Hydrolysis. Water converts it to chloroacetic acid and hydrogen chloride. Unwanted in process, and the reason dry handling discipline is not negotiable.
Chloroacetyl Chloride vs the Related Acylating Reagents
Acylating reagents are chosen by what they leave behind on the molecule. With this family, the question is how many chlorines come along for the ride and whether the second one is wanted.
| Reagent | CAS | What it delivers & when it is used |
|---|---|---|
| Chloroacetyl Chloride | 79-04-9 | Chloroacetyl group with a reactive chloromethyl handle — lidocaine, diclofenac and chloroacetanilide herbicides |
| Acetyl Chloride | 75-36-5 | Plain acetyl group, no handle — simple acetylation where no second step is wanted |
| Dichloroacetyl Chloride | 79-36-7 | Two chlorines — a separate product in its own right, and the main impurity in chloroacetyl chloride |
| Chloroacetic Acid | 79-11-8 | The parent acid — used directly where an acid chloride's reactivity is not needed |
| Thionyl Chloride | 7719-09-7 | Not an acylating agent — the reagent typically used to make chloroacetyl chloride from the acid |
Stated plainly: acetyl chloride acetylates and stops, chloroacetyl chloride acetylates and leaves you somewhere to go next, and dichloroacetyl chloride is a different product that happens to look like a contaminated version of the second. That last point is why the dichloro limit belongs on your purchase specification rather than being inferred from assay.
Industries We Supply CAC To
The same fuming liquid goes to an API plant and a herbicide works. What changes between them is the dichloro limit, the colour and the dangerous-goods paperwork each destination expects.
Where CAC is Used
Chloroacetyl chloride is bought for the chloroacetamide fragment and what can be done with it afterwards. These are the end uses our customers buy it for.
In lidocaine manufacture
The classical route is two steps and both are short: chloroacetyl chloride acylates 2,6-dimethylaniline to give the chloroacetamide, then diethylamine displaces the remaining chlorine to give lidocaine. Because the sequence is so direct, the reagent's dichloroacetyl chloride content transfers straight into a dichloroacetamide impurity in the API — which is exactly the kind of impurity that ends up in a regulatory filing. API users specify that figure tightly for good reason.
In chloroacetanilide herbicides
The herbicide family built on this chemistry is very large by volume, and the pattern is the same: acylate the substituted aniline, then substitute at the chloromethyl carbon with an ether or amine fragment. Agrochemical buyers are generally more price-sensitive and more tolerant on colour than pharmaceutical buyers, but just as attentive to the dichloro figure, because it propagates identically.
In fine chemical and surfactant synthesis
Esterification gives chloroacetate esters; Friedel-Crafts acylation gives chloromethyl ketones that open heterocyclic routes; carboxymethylation chemistry feeds betaine surfactants and chelants. These users typically buy technical grade and are more focused on consistent water content and free acid than on trace impurity limits.
Need chloroacetyl chloride to an API-grade dichloro limit?
Tell us the assay and dichloroacetyl chloride limits you work to, your packing preference and the annual quantity, along with your destination port. We will come back with a price, a lead time, a sample COA and the Class 6.1 documentation.
Quality Control & Testing
Every lot is released against a batch-specific Certificate of Analysis. The methods behind the numbers are standard across the industry, and we are happy to share them or to work to your own in-house test protocol.
- Assay and impurity distribution — gas chromatography quantifying dichloroacetyl chloride and acetyl chloride alongside the main component.
- Free acidity and chloroacetic acid — the markers of hydrolysis, which tell you whether the material has seen moisture since it was filled.
- Colour — APHA / Hazen against a standard, and the quickest indicator of handling history.
- Non-volatile residue — predicts residue and fouling in your vessel after the excess reagent is stripped.
- Boiling range and density — quick identity and purity confirmations.
- Moisture-sensitive sampling — samples are drawn and sealed under dry conditions, because an open sample stops representing the drum within minutes.
Common Process Problems & Likely Causes
When chloroacetyl chloride causes trouble in a plant, the cause is usually one of a short list of things. This table is the shortcut our technical desk works through before anyone opens a complaint file.
| Symptom | Likely cause | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Dichloroacetamide impurity in the API | Dichloroacetyl chloride in the reagent acylating alongside the main component | Dichloro figure on the COA against your qualification lot and your filed limit |
| Acylation yield below the qualification batch | Water in the substrate or solvent hydrolysing the reagent | Karl Fischer on the substrate and solvent; free acidity on the reagent |
| Free acidity higher than the certificate | Moisture ingress after the drum was opened | Seal discipline, nitrogen blanket, headspace in a part-used drum |
| Vigorous gassing on opening a drum | Hydrolysis inside the container generating hydrogen chloride | Vent carefully in a controlled area; check seal and liner before use |
| Material darker than the retained sample | Moisture, warmth or light in transit or storage | Colour on the COA; storage and transit conditions |
| Corrosion of fittings and transfer lines | Moisture in the system making the contents aggressively corrosive | Line dryness, nitrogen purge discipline, materials of construction |
| Exotherm steeper than expected on addition | A highly reactive acid chloride meeting an unhindered amine — normal, if the addition rate is wrong | Addition rate, cooling capacity and mixing against your qualification run |
Packaging, Storage & Shipping
- Standard packing. 250 kg net in lined MS drums, with ISO tank containers arranged where volumes justify them.
- Moisture exclusion. Hydrolysis is the main degradation route. Keep drums sealed, purge transfer lines with dry nitrogen and never leave a container open to humid air.
- Storage. Cool, dry, well-ventilated and bunded, out of direct sun, away from water, alcohols, amines, bases and oxidising agents.
- Venting. Drums that have admitted moisture develop pressure. Open in a controlled area with full PPE, pointing the closure away from the operator.
- Materials of construction. Dry mild steel, glass-lined equipment or suitable fluoropolymer-lined systems, with PTFE seals. Avoid rubber and most elastomers.
- Scrubbing. Any transfer or reaction releases hydrogen chloride. Caustic scrubbing on the vent system is required, not optional.
- Shelf life. Typically 12 months in unopened original packing under those conditions. Beyond that, re-test assay and free acidity rather than assume.
- Transport classification. Shipped under UN 1752, Chloroacetyl chloride, Class 6.1 with subsidiary risk 8, Packing Group I. Confirm against the current SDS and the shipper's declaration for your destination and mode.
Hazards & Safe Handling
Chloroacetyl chloride is fatal or toxic if inhaled, causes severe skin burns and eye damage, and is strongly lachrymatory. It is among the more hazardous products in this range and must be handled in a closed system by trained personnel under a proper risk assessment — the current SDS supplied with your consignment is the governing document.
- Inhalation is the critical hazard. Acute inhalation toxicity, not corrosivity, is what puts this product in Packing Group I. Handle in a closed system under local exhaust ventilation with vent scrubbing, never in open vessels.
- Lachrymatory warning. Eye irritation gives a warning at low concentrations, but do not treat that as an exposure monitor — the concentrations that matter for acute toxicity are reached quickly in an enclosed space.
- Skin and eye contact. Causes severe burns. Chemical-resistant gloves rated for acid chlorides, chemical goggles with a face shield, and chemical-resistant clothing.
- Emergency equipment. Safety shower and eyewash within immediate reach, and supplied-air or full-face respiratory protection available for emergency intervention.
- Water reactivity. Hydrolyses to chloroacetic acid and hydrogen chloride. Do not use water on a spill; the reaction makes the situation worse and generates corrosive mist.
- Incompatibilities. Water, alcohols, amines, strong bases, oxidising agents and dimethyl sulphoxide.
- Spill response. Evacuate and ventilate. Contain and absorb with dry inert non-combustible material, collect in a dry labelled container, and treat residues with care — chloroacetic acid formed by hydrolysis is itself highly toxic.
- First aid. Move to fresh air and get immediate medical attention after any inhalation exposure, even if symptoms seem mild, because respiratory effects can be delayed. Remove contaminated clothing, wash skin with plenty of water and flush eyes for at least 15 minutes, with the SDS to hand.
Regulatory & Compliance Notes
Chloroacetyl chloride is an established industrial chemical, a Packing Group I dangerous good, and a scheduled chemical under the Chemical Weapons Convention. Because obligations differ by territory, volume and use, the notes below are orientation rather than legal advice — confirm your own position with your regulatory adviser before importing.
- Chemical Weapons Convention. Chloroacetyl chloride is a CWC Schedule 3 chemical. Import, export and use attract declaration and licensing obligations in states party to the Convention, and end-use documentation is part of every transaction.
- Dangerous goods. UN 1752, Class 6.1 with subsidiary risk 8, Packing Group I. The packing group restricts package sizes, tank options and routings, and raises the documentation burden substantially.
- Inventory status. Listed on the principal chemical inventories in the major importing regions. Ask us for the inventory confirmation relevant to your destination country.
- Import licensing. Several territories require a specific import licence for this product rather than a general chemical registration. Start that process well before you need the material.
- End-use documentation. Expect to supply a statement of intended use and, in many jurisdictions, an end-user certificate.
- Hazard communication. Supplied with an SDS compliant with the format applicable to your region, and labelled in line with the GHS classification for the product.
We Supply CAC Worldwide
Chelora Chemicals is a supplier and export partner, not a single-plant trader. We ship Chloroacetyl Chloride from India to customers across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and North and South America, handling the export documentation, dangerous-goods paperwork and freight so the material arrives ready to use.
- Incoterms. EXW, FOB, CIF, CFR and DAP quoted to suit your purchasing terms and freight arrangements.
- Ports. Regular shipments through Nhava Sheva (JNPT) and Mundra, with other Indian ports arranged where it suits the routing.
- Documentation. Commercial invoice, packing list, certificate of origin, COA, SDS and the UN 1752 dangerous-goods declaration with any end-user certificate required issued as a complete set.
- Flexible volumes. A single drum for laboratory qualification, through to ISO tank quantities on a supply contract, subject to the routing restrictions that apply to Packing Group I.
- Supply continuity. Because we are independent of any one producer, a plant turnaround or a shipping disruption at one source does not have to become your stock-out.
Buying CAC from Chelora
We are an independent sourcing and supply partner. For chloroacetyl chloride that means settling two things at enquiry: the dichloroacetyl chloride limit your filing or formulation requires, and the destination country, because the CWC paperwork and the Packing Group I routing restrictions drive the lead time.
- Documentation on every lot. Batch-specific COA including dichloroacetyl chloride, free acidity and colour, current SDS and TDS.
- Samples before commitment. Trial quantities for process qualification ahead of a commercial order, packed to exclude moisture.
- Quantities. From a single 250 kg drum through to tank quantities on contract supply.
- Regulatory handling. CWC Schedule 3 declarations, end-user certificates and Packing Group I routing guidance for your destination.
- Export experience. Class 6.1 dangerous-goods documentation, packing and labelling handled for sea and road freight.
- Related reagents. Thionyl chloride, ethyl chloroformate and the wider pharmaceutical intermediate range from one supplier.
How ordering works
- Send the enquiry. Product, grade or pharmacopoeia standard, quantity, destination port and the Incoterm you buy on. If you have a spec sheet, attach it — it saves a round trip.
- We quote. Price, lead time, packing and a sample COA, normally within one working day.
- Sample and qualify. For first orders or critical applications, we send a trial quantity so your lab can sign off before you commit.
- Confirm the order. Proforma invoice issued; payment terms agreed against the volume and the relationship.
- Production and QC. Material allocated and released against a batch-specific COA, with a pre-shipment sample where the application calls for it.
- Ship and document. Packed, labelled and loaded with the full export document set, and tracked through to arrival.
Chloroacetyl Chloride — Common Questions
The questions our technical desk is asked most often about CAC. If yours isn't here, call or email and you will reach someone who knows the chemistry.
What is the CAS number of Chloroacetyl Chloride?
The CAS number for Chloroacetyl Chloride is 79-04-9, and its EC number is 201-171-6. It is also listed as monochloroacetyl chloride, chloroacetic acid chloride and CAC. The formula is ClCH2COCl with a molecular weight of 112.94 g/mol.
What is chloroacetyl chloride used for?
For building the chloroacetamide fragment. It acylates anilines and amines to give chloroacetamides that are then substituted at the remaining chlorine — the route to lidocaine and related local anaesthetics, to several anti-inflammatory actives, and above all to the chloroacetanilide herbicide family. It also gives chloroacetate esters and feeds betaine and chelant chemistry.
Do you supply chloroacetyl chloride worldwide?
Yes, subject to the licensing that applies to a Chemical Weapons Convention Schedule 3 chemical and to the routing restrictions that come with Packing Group I. We supply across Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas as well as throughout India, and handle the full export, dangerous-goods and end-use document set.
How is lidocaine made from chloroacetyl chloride?
In two short steps. Chloroacetyl chloride acylates 2,6-dimethylaniline to give the chloroacetamide, then diethylamine displaces the remaining chlorine to give lidocaine. Because the sequence is so direct, the reagent's impurity profile transfers almost unchanged into the API, which is why the dichloroacetyl chloride limit matters so much in this application.
Why does dichloroacetyl chloride content matter?
Because it acylates under exactly the same conditions as the main component, so it produces a dichloroacetamide impurity in your intermediate that your downstream purification was never designed to remove. Assay will not warn you about it — specify the dichloro figure explicitly and compare it against your qualification lot.
How is chloroacetyl chloride manufactured?
Mainly by converting chloroacetic acid to the acid chloride with thionyl chloride or phosgene. It can also be made by controlled chlorination of acetyl chloride, or by reacting ketene with chlorine. The process challenge in every route is stopping at mono-substitution, which is why dichloroacetyl chloride is the characteristic impurity.
What purity does Chelora supply, and can you meet a tighter specification?
Standard commercial grade is 99.0% minimum assay by GC, with dichloroacetyl chloride held to 0.5%, chloroacetic acid to 0.3%, free HCl to 0.2% and colour to 50 APHA. Pharmaceutical grades with tighter dichloro and colour limits are available — send us the specification you work to.
What happens if it contacts water?
It hydrolyses to chloroacetic acid and hydrogen chloride. In process that costs you reagent and raises free acidity; in a sealed drum it generates pressure; in a spill it produces corrosive mist and leaves behind chloroacetic acid, which is itself highly toxic. Never use water on a spill involving this product.
Why is it in Packing Group I?
Because of acute inhalation toxicity rather than corrosivity. That classification restricts package sizes and tank options, rules out some carriers and routings, and raises the documentation burden considerably — so the routing needs confirming before the delivery schedule is planned, not after.
How should chloroacetyl chloride be stored?
Cool, dry, well-ventilated and bunded, out of direct sun, with drums tightly sealed and away from water, alcohols, amines, bases and oxidising agents. Use dry mild steel or lined equipment with PTFE seals, purge transfer lines with dry nitrogen, and scrub vents with caustic. Unopened original packing typically carries a 12-month shelf life.
What are the hazards of handling it?
It is toxic or fatal if inhaled, causes severe skin burns and serious eye damage, and is strongly lachrymatory. Inhalation is the critical route, so it belongs in a closed system under local exhaust ventilation with vent scrubbing, with full PPE, safety shower and eyewash immediately available. Seek medical attention after any inhalation exposure even if symptoms seem mild, because effects can be delayed.
How is it classified for transport?
Under UN 1752, Chloroacetyl chloride, Class 6.1 toxic with subsidiary risk 8 corrosive, Packing Group I. We prepare the packing, marking, labelling and declarations for sea and road freight. Confirm the classification against the current SDS for your destination and mode.
Is chloroacetyl chloride a controlled chemical?
Yes. It is a Schedule 3 chemical under the Chemical Weapons Convention, so import, export and use carry declaration and licensing obligations in states party to the Convention. An end-user certificate and a statement of intended use are a routine part of every transaction.
What packing sizes and order quantities are available?
Standard packing is 250 kg net in lined MS drums, with ISO tank containers arranged where volumes and routings permit. Orders run from a single drum for trial work up to tank quantities on contract supply, within the constraints that Packing Group I imposes.
Ready to source Chloroacetyl Chloride?
Send us your specification, grade and annual volume. You will get a price, a realistic lead time and a sample COA from someone who understands what the material has to do in your process — delivered anywhere in the world.