''tert''-Butyl hypochlorite is the

organic compound Some chemical authorities define an organic compound as a chemical compound that contains a carbon–hydrogen or carbon–carbon bond; others consider an organic compound to be any chemical compound that contains carbon. For example, carbon-co ...

with the formula (CH₃)₃COCl. A yellow liquid, it is a rare example of an organic

hypochlorite In chemistry, hypochlorite, or chloroxide is an oxyanion with the chemical formula ClO−. It combines with a number of cations to form hypochlorite salts. Common examples include sodium hypochlorite (household bleach) and calcium hypochlorite ...

, i.e. a compound with an O-Cl bond. It is a reactive material that is useful for chlorinations. It can be viewed as a lipophilic version of

sodium hypochlorite Sodium hypochlorite is an alkaline inorganic chemical compound with the formula (also written as NaClO). It is commonly known in a dilute aqueous solution as bleach or chlorine bleach. It is the sodium salt of hypochlorous acid, consisting of ...

(bleach).

Synthesis and reactions

It is produced by chlorination of ''tert''-butyl alcohol in the presence of base: : ''tert''-Butyl hypochlorite is useful in the preparation of organic

chloramines Chloramines refer to derivatives of ammonia and organic amines wherein one or more N−H bonds have been replaced by N−Cl bonds. Two classes of compounds are considered: inorganic chloramines and organic chloramines. Chloramines are the most wi ...

such as chloramine-T: :R₂NH + ''t''-BuOCl → R₂NCl + ''t''-BuOH

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Butyl hypochlorite, tert- Hypochlorite esters Tert-Butyl esters