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N-Chloroamino acids are unstable in aqueous solution and decompose through different pathways depending on the reaction conditions, yielding precursors of carcinogenic and/or mutagenic compounds. One of these pathways is a 1,2-elimination process, which has scarcely received any attention and for which no systematic analysis is available. The process is first order relative to the N-chloroamino acid and to that of hydroxide ion.The use of 2,2,2-trifluoroethanoI and 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoropropan-2-ol buffer solutions established that the process is general-base catalysed. The reaction rate is affected by the presence of a methyl group on the nitrogen atom and the nature of the leaving group. The results show an important steric effect due to the alkyl substituents on the a-carbon. With bulky alkyl substituents on the a-carbon, and in particular in the case of N-

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