Trichloromethyl group

The naming of is group is derived from the methyl group (which has the formula –CH3), by replacing each hydrogen atom by a chlorine atom.

Compounds with this group are a subclass of the organochlorines.

Some notable examples of compounds with this group are trichloromethane H–CCl3, 1,1,1-trichloroethane H3C–CCl3, and chloral HOC–CCl3.

The trichloromethyl group has a significant electronegativity.

[1][2] By the same principle, the trichloromethyl group generally lowers the basicity of organic compounds, e.g. trichloroethanol.