Chloroprene

Chloroprene (2-chloro 1,3-butadiene), a conjugated non-hydrocarbon diolefin, is a liquid that boils at 59.2°C and while only slightly soluble in water it is soluble in alcohol. The main use of chloroprene is to polymerize it to neoprene rubber. Butadiene produces chloroprene through a high temperature chlorination to a mixture of dichlorobutenes, which is isomerized to 3,4-dichlorol- butene. This compound is then dehydrochlorinated to chloroprene: