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Benzal chloride

chemical compound

Specimen drawers, botanical folios and brass scientific instruments under study light
Science and natureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJun 16, 2026
Entity authorityQ419420 ↗
Source-derived summary

Benzal chloride is an organic compound with the formula C6H5CHCl2. This colourless liquid is a lachrymator and is used as a building block in organic synthesis.

Preparation and usage

Benzal chloride is produced by the free radical chlorination of toluene, being preceded in the process by benzyl chloride (C6H5CH2Cl) and followed by benzotrichloride (C6H5CCl3):

C6H5CH3 + Cl2 → C6H5CH2Cl + HCl

C6H5CH2Cl + Cl2 → C6H5CHCl2 + HCl

C6H5CHCl2 + Cl2 → C6H5CCl3 + HCl

Benzylic halides are typically strong alkylating agents, and for this reason benzal chloride is treated as a hazardous compound.

Treatment of benzal chloride with sodium gives stilbene.

The main industrial use is as a precursor to benzaldehyde.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Benzal chloride” as chemical compound. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA practical orientation to terminology and classification, particularly when read beside dated observations, specimens or technical literature. The current 112-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where Benzal, chloride and chemical can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as chemical compound. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q419420. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.

Critical limits

Scientific names, classifications and consensus can change while older terminology persists in catalogues and historical literature. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.

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  • Current terminology
  • Classification context
  • Finding cited technical literature
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Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Benzal chloride”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Benzal chloride primary sources, Benzal chloride archive and Benzal research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Benzal chloride” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.