Abstract
2,2,2-Trichloroethyl chloroformate (1) in higher boiling solvents, particularly in the presence of potassium carbonate and potassium bicarbonate, affords undesired di-(2,2,2-trichloroethyl)-carbonate (2) as a byproduct. When chemically pure chloroformate was used, addition of carbonates was found to be unnecessary in N-demethylation reactions.