Thionyl chloride is mainly used in the industrial production of organochlorine compounds, which are often intermediates in pharmaceuticals and agrichemicals.Mechanism of the Reaction of Alcohols with Thionyl Chloride First, a nucleophilic oxygen atom of the alcohol displaces a chloride ion from thionyl chloride to form a protonated alkyl chlorosulfite intermediate.

Thionyl chloride is mainly used in the industrial production of organochlorine compounds, which are often intermediates in pharmaceuticals and agrichemicals.

A number of recent reports has described the thionyl chloride mediated oxidation of methylene groups activated by adjacent πaccepting functions. The reaction can follow several pathways according to the structure of the substrate and the amount of thionyl chloride used.

THIONYL CHLORIDE FOR SYNTHESIS