
Chloroacetonitrile is a colorless and transparent fuming liquid having a pungent odour, and shows a good solubility in alcohol and ether. Chloroacetonitrile is also known as cyanide chloromethane, and is highly toxic in nature. It has also been seen that the oxidation of chloroacetonitrile in the presence of hydrogen peroxide can lead to the formation of cyanide, which is very harmful for human health. Chloroacetonitrile is stable at normal conditions, but it can react with acids, moisture, or strong oxidizing agents. Chloroacetonitrile will produce toxic vapors of hydrogen chloride on reacting with water. Chloroacetonitrile needs very extreme storage conditions with good ventilation and low temperature, due to its high toxicity and moderate flash point. Food additives, oxidants, and acids can react with chloroacetonitrile. Hence, it should be stored away from these chemicals. Analytical methods such as liquid chromatography or mass spectroscopy use chloroacetonitrile as an eluent additive. Chloroacetonitrile is also used by chemical industries as a raw material for the synthesis of organic chemical compounds and for analytical reagents. Chloroacetonitrile is also used in many pharmaceutical industries as an intermediate compound. Chloroacetonitrile is used by the pesticide industry in the synthesis of fumigants whose toxic vapours are used to poison and kill pests.