On the Decarboxylation of Metal Trichloroacetates

The decarboxylation of trichloroacetate ion in basic solvents produces the intermediate trichlorocarbanion which may split into chloride and dichlorocarbene or combine with a proton to chloroform. Conditions under which protonation predominates were examined for possible use of the reaction for synthesizing metal compounds in non-aqueous solvents.