Chloroalkane - Definition

Chloroalkanes are organic molecules, specifically they are halogenoalkanes.

Chloroalkanes' structure contains an alkane (carbon chain back, with hydrogen attached) and chlorine.

Example

An example is chloroethane wherein a chlorine atom is attached to a ethane molecule:

    H   H
    |   |
H - C - C - Cl
    |   |
    H   H

Other examples of chloroalkanes are the series: CH₃Cl (chloromethane or methyl chloride), CH₂Cl₂ (dichloromethane or methylene chloride), CHCl₃ (trichloromethane or chloroform), and CCl₄ (tetrachloromethane or carbon tetrachloride).