Methyl chloroacetate CAS 96-34-4
Methyl chloroacetate is the methyl ester of chloroacetic acid and functions as a reactive electrophilic building block in organic synthesis. It is widely used to introduce the chloroacetyl/methylene-chloride functionality in the manufacture of herbicide and pharmaceutical intermediates, glycols and glycidyl derivatives, and as an alkylating agent in fine-chemical routes. The material must be handled under controlled conditions due to its reactivity toward nucleophiles and acids.
Applications
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Epoxide & glycidyl intermediate
Used to prepare glycidyl derivatives and epoxides via substitution or ring-closure routes; serves as a precursor in specialty polymer and resin chemistries. -
Alkylation / acylation synthon
Employed as an electrophile to introduce the chloroacetyl/methylene-chloride moiety in pharmaceutical and agrochemical intermediate syntheses. -
Herbicide / agrochemical intermediate
Key building block in the synthesis of phenoxy and other herbicide active intermediates. -
Fine chemicals & specialty synthesis
Used broadly in small-molecule synthesis for production of esters, amides and heterocycles that require a chloroacetyl handle. -
Analytical standard / reagent
Supplied as reference material for GC/HPLC method development and as a reagent in organic synthesis labs.
