Lauroyl chloride is the organic compound with the formula CH3(CH2)10COCl. It is the acid chloride of lauric acid. Lauroyl chloride is a standard reagent for installing the lauroyl group.[1] It is mainly produced as a precursor to dilauroyl peroxide, which is widely used in free-radical polymerizations.
Lauroyl chloride is a substrate for diverse reactions characteristic of acid chlorides. With base, it converts to laurone, a ketone with the formula [CH<sub>3</sub>(CH<sub>2</sub>)<sub>10</sub>]2CO.[2] With sodium azide, it reacts to give undecyl isocyanate via a Curtius rearrangement of the acyl azide.[3]