Ethyl chloroformate is an organic compound with the chemical formula ClCO2CH2CH3. It is the ethyl ester of chloroformic acid. It is a colorless, corrosive and highly toxic liquid. It is a reagent used in organic synthesis for the introduction of the ethyl carbamate protecting group and for the formation of carboxylic anhydrides.
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Ethyl chloroformate in the context of Chloroformic acid
Chloroformic acid is a chemical compound with the formula ClCO2H. It is the single acyl-halide derivative of carbonic acid (phosgene is the double acyl-halide derivative). Chloroformic acid is also structurally related to formic acid, in a way that the non-acidic hydrogen of formic acid is replaced by chlorine. Despite the similar name, it is very different from chloroform. It is described as unstable, decomposing into carbon dioxide and hydrogen chloride.
Chloroformic acid itself is too unstable to be handled for chemical reactions. However, many esters of this carboxylic acid are stable and these chloroformates are important reagents in organic chemistry. They are used to prepare mixed carboxylic acid anhydrides used in peptide synthesis.Important chloroformate esters include 4-nitrophenyl chloroformate, fluorenylmethyloxycarbonylchloride, benzyl chloroformate and ethyl chloroformate.
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