Dichloroacetylene (DCA) is an organochlorine compound with the formula C2Cl2.[2] It is a colorless, explosive liquid that has a sweet and "disagreeable" odor.[3]
Production
Dichloroacetylene was first synthesized from trichloroethylene by E. Ott, W. Ottemeyer and K. Packendorff in 1930.[2]
Ether solutions of dichloroacetylene are relatively stable, and such solutions can be safely generated by the dehydrochlorination of trichlorethylene. A popular procedure uses potassium hydride as the base:[4]
Cl2C=CHCl + KH → ClC≡CCl + KCl + H2
A trace of methanol is required.
It has also been generated (and used in situ) using lithium diisopropylamide under anhydrous conditions[5] as well as potassium hydroxide.[6]
Dichloroacetylene can occur and be stable in air at concentrations of up to 200 parts per million if certain other compounds, such as ether, with which it forms an azeotrope (boiling point of 32 °C), and trichloroethylene,[7] are also present.[8]
Dichloroacetylene, being electrophilic, adds nucleophiles, such as amines:
ClC≡CCl + R2NH → Cl(H)C=CCl(NR2)
Biological role and toxicity
Dichloroacetylene causes neurological disorders,[9] among other problems.[13][14]
Studies on male rats and rabbits have shown that inhalation of dichloroacetylene can cause tubular necrosis, focal necrosis, and other nephrotoxic effects. Additionally, the rabbits that were given dichloroacetylene experienced hepatotoxic and neuropathological effects. Inhalation of dichloroacetylene also causes benign tumors of the livers and kidneys of rats. The chemical also caused increased instances of lymphomas.[9] It also causes weight loss in animals.[13] 3.5% of a dose of dichloroacetylene remains in the corpses of male Wistar rats.[9] The LC50s of mice exposed to dichloroacetylene are 124 parts per million for a 1-hour exposure by inhalation and 19 parts per million for a 6-hour exposure by inhalation.[12] The chemical is ingested primarily through glutathione-dependent systems. Glutathione also reacts with it. Hepatic and renal glutathione S-transferases serve as catalysts to this reaction. While dichloroacetylene is nephrotoxic in rats, it does not show any signs of nephrotoxicity in humans.[7]
^ abHenning Hopf; Bernhard Witulski (1995). "Functionalized Acetylenes in Organic Synthesis - The Case of the 1-Cyano- and the 1-Halogenoacetylenes". In Stang, Peter J.; Diederich, François (eds.). Modern Acetylene Chemistry. Weinheim: VCH. pp. 33–66. doi:10.1002/9783527615278.ch02. ISBN9783527615261.
^Denis, Jean Noel; Moyano, Albert; Greene, Andrew E. (1987). "Practical synthesis of dichloroacetylene". The Journal of Organic Chemistry. 52 (15): 3461–3462. doi:10.1021/jo00391a059.
^"Dichlorovinylation of an Enolate: 8-Ethynyl-8-Methyl-1,4-Dioxaspiro[4.5]Dec-6-Ene". Organic Syntheses. 64: 73. 1986. doi:10.15227/orgsyn.064.0073.
^Siegel, J.; Jones, Richard Arvin.; Kurlansik, L. (1970). "Safe and Convenient Synthesis of Dichloroacetylene". The Journal of Organic Chemistry. 35 (9): 3199. doi:10.1021/jo00834a090.
^Greim, H; Wolff, T; Höfler, M; Lahaniatis, E (1984), "Formation of dichloroacetylene from trichloroethylene in the presence of alkaline material--possible cause of intoxication after abundant use of chloroethylene-containing solvents", Archives of Toxicology, 56 (2): 74–7, doi:10.1007/bf00349074, PMID6532380, S2CID19576314
^ abcReichert, D.; Ewald, D.; Henschler, D. (1975), "Generation and inhalation toxicity of dichloroacetylene", Food and Cosmetics Toxicology, 13 (5): 511–5, doi:10.1016/0015-6264(75)90004-8, PMID1201833
^Kanhai, Wolfgang; Dekant, Wolfgang; Henschler, Dietrich (January 1989). "Metabolism of the nephrotoxin dichloroacetylene by glutathione conjugation". Chemical Research in Toxicology. 2 (1): 51–56. doi:10.1021/tx00007a009. eISSN1520-5010. ISSN0893-228X. PMID2519231.