Butyryl chloride

Butyryl chloride (also known as n-Butyryl chloride, butanoyl chloride, or C-4 Acyl halide) is an organic compound with the chemical formula C₄H₇ClO. Butyryl chloride is liquid at room temperature, has a colorless to light yellowish appearance and has an extremely strong pungent odor. Butyryl chloride is soluble in almost all aprotic organic solvents, but it decomposes violently by heating and spontaneously decomposes when exposed to moist air or water to form pure hydrochloric acid gas. It also reacts violently when mixed with strong oxidants, metals (especially iron), alkali metals, alkali earth metals, bases and wide range of organic substances such as amines, dimethyl sulfoxide, and alcohols. These reactions tend to result in explosions and fire; hence extreme caution must be taken when mixing with other substances. Butyryl Chloride belongs in the group of acyl halides which are involved in acylation process that introduce an acyl group (RCO-) into compounds.