Substance profile
Benzyl chloroformate
Benzyl chloroformate is an oily liquid with an acrid odor.
01 · Identification
What Benzyl chloroformate is
Benzyl chloroformate is an oily liquid with an acrid odor. Its molecular formula is C8H7ClO2 and its molecular weight is 170.59 g/mol. It boils at 152 °C, melts at 0 °C.
Under the GHS it carries the signal word Danger. It is classed as corrosives.
02 · Identifiers
Benzyl chloroformate identifiers and molecular data
Benzyl chloroformate CAS number and EC number
Benzyl chloroformate molecular formula and molecular weight
03 · GHS classification
Benzyl chloroformate hazard classification
Harmonised classification under CLP Annex VI. This is the legally binding classification in the EU; other jurisdictions may differ.
Benzyl chloroformate pictograms and signal word
Benzyl chloroformate hazard class and category
| Hazard class | Category | From code | Pictogram |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skin corrosion/irritation GHS chapter 3.2 | Category 1A or 1B or 1C | H314 | GHS05 |
| Hazardous to the aquatic environment - acute GHS chapter 4.1 | Category 1 | H400 | GHS09 |
| Hazardous to the aquatic environment - chronic GHS chapter 4.1 | Category 1 | H410 | GHS09 |
Where two values are shown with “or”, the hazard statement is shared by more than one category or by more than one class, and the code alone does not say which. H272, for example, belongs to oxidising liquids and to oxidising solids — the physical state decides. The binding answer for a specific entry is in the CLP Annex VI table itself.
Benzyl chloroformate hazard statements (H-codes)
| Code | Hazard statement |
|---|---|
| H314 | Causes severe skin burns and eye damage. |
| H400 | Very toxic to aquatic life. |
| H410 | Very toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects. |
This page lists only the codes assigned to Benzyl chloroformate. The full reference lives on the hazard statements hub, the precautionary statements hub and the GHS pictograms hub.
Safety Data Sheet
Getting an SDS for Benzyl chloroformate
A Safety Data Sheet is written for a product, not for a substance: the supplier of the grade you actually buy issues it, so two suppliers of Benzyl chloroformate issue two different sheets. That is why there is no single authoritative SDS for a substance to download — what there is, is the job of collecting the sheets for the products you hold and keeping them current as suppliers revise them.
04 · Precautionary statements
Benzyl chloroformate precautionary statements
CLP Annex VI assigns 8 precautionary statements to Benzyl chloroformate. They are grouped the way a label groups them: what to do before handling, what to do when something has already happened, how to store it and how to dispose of it.
Prevention
What to do before and during handling so the hazard never happens.
Response
What to do once exposure, spillage or fire has already happened.
Disposal
What has to happen to the contents and the empty container.
Reading the notation. … is a blank the supplier fills in — not a truncated sentence.· [square brackets] mark a part printed only when it applies.
05 · Names in the regulation
Benzyl chloroformate name in 23 EU languages
CLP Annex VI Part 3 is published in every language edition of the regulation, and the identification column is written out in each of them. Nothing below is translated by us: each line is the name as that edition prints it. Under Art. 18(2) the substance name from Annex VI is a lawful product identifier, so this is the wording to put on a label going to that market — and where the cell lists several designations, any one of them qualifies.
| Language | Name in CLP Annex VI Part 3 |
|---|---|
| Bulgarian български | бензилов хлороформат |
| Spanish español | Cloroformiato de bencilo |
| Czech čeština | benzyl-chlorformiát |
| Danish dansk | benzylchlorformiat |
| German Deutsch | Benzylchlorformiat Chlorameisensäurebenzylester |
| Estonian eesti | bensüülkloroformiaat |
| Greek ελληνικά | χλωρομυρμηκικός βενζυλεστέρας χλωρομυρμηκικό βενζύλιο |
| English English | benzyl chloroformate |
| French français | chloroformiate de benzyle |
| Croatian hrvatski | benzil-klorformijat |
| Italian italiano | cloroformiato di benzile benzile cloroformiato |
| Latvian latviešu | benzilhlorformiāts |
| Lithuanian lietuvių | benzilchlorformiatas |
| Hungarian magyar | benzil-klórformiát |
| Maltese Malti | kloroformat tal-benżil |
| Dutch Nederlands | benzylchloorformiaat |
| Polish polski | chloromrówczan benzylu ester benzylowy kwasu chloromrówkowego |
| Portuguese português | cloroformiato de benzilo |
| Romanian română | cloroformat de benzil |
| Slovak slovenčina | benzyl-chlórmetanoát |
| Slovenian slovenščina | benzil kloroformat |
| Finnish suomi | bentsyyliklooriformiaatti |
| Swedish svenska | bensylklorformiat |
All 23 language editions of Annex VI carry this entry. Irish is the twenty-fourth official EU language and has no line here for a different reason: no consolidated CLP text has ever been published in Irish, so there is no Irish edition of Annex VI to quote a name from. Source: consolidated CLP, CELEX 02008R1272, language editions. © European Union, https://eur-lex.europa.eu — only the electronic Official Journal of the European Union is authentic.
06 · Label elements
Benzyl chloroformate GHS label elements
Everything CLP Annex VI fixes for Benzyl chloroformate, laid out the way it appears on a label. The greyed lines are the parts only the supplier can fill in.
Danger
Benzyl chloroformate
- Causes severe skin burns and eye damage.
- Very toxic to aquatic life.
- Very toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects.
- Do not breathe dust/fume/gas/mist/vapours/spray.
- Avoid release to the environment.
- Wear protective gloves/protective clothing/eye protection/face protection/hearing protection/…
- IF SWALLOWED:
- Immediately call a POISON CENTER/doctor/…
- Do NOT induce vomiting.
- Collect spillage.
- Dispose of contents/container to …
Supplier name, address and telephone number· Product identifier·Nominal quantity
Need this as an actual label? Open Benzyl chloroformate in the GHS label constructor →
07 · Health hazards
Benzyl chloroformate health hazards and exposure limits
Benzyl chloroformate hazard summary
Corrosive to skin; [Quick CPC] A skin, eye, and respiratory tract irritant; Lacrimator; [HSDB] A corrosive substance that causes lacrimation and may cause lung edema after inhalation of high concentrations; [ICSC] See CHLOROFORMATES.
Source: Haz-Map, Information on Hazardous Chemicals and Occupational Diseases
08 · Physical and chemical properties
Benzyl chloroformate properties
Every value is shown with the conditions it was measured under and the source it came from. Where sources disagree, all values are listed rather than one being picked — the difference is usually a different form of the substance, not an error.
Benzyl chloroformate boiling point
| Property | Value | Conditions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boiling point | 152 °C (305.6 °F) | at 760 mmHg | HSDB |
| 152.22 °C (306 °F) | decomposes, at 760 mmHg | CAMEO |
Benzyl chloroformate melting point
| Property | Value | Conditions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melting point | 0 °C (32 °F) | ICSC |
Benzyl chloroformate density
| Property | Value | Conditions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Density | 1.2166 g/cm³ | HSDB | |
| 1.2 g/cm³ | ICSC | ||
| 1.22 g/cm³ | at 20 °C | CAMEO |
Benzyl chloroformate solubility
| Property | Value | Conditions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solubility | SOL IN ETHER, ACETONE, BENZENE | HSDB | |
| Solubility in water: reaction | ICSC |
Benzyl chloroformate vapor pressure
| Property | Value | Conditions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vapor pressure | 7 mmHg | HSDB | |
| 0.0675 mmHg | ICSC |
Benzyl chloroformate flash point
| Property | Value | Conditions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flash point | 108.33 °C (227 °F) | HSDB | |
| 80 °C (176 °F) | ICSC | ||
| 108.33 °C (227 °F) | decomposes | CAMEO |
Benzyl chloroformate lower explosive limit (LEL)
| Property | Value | Conditions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lower explosive limit (LEL) | CONTAINERS MAY EXPLODE. | DURING FIRE | HSDB |
Benzyl chloroformate vapor density
| Property | Value | Conditions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vapor density | 1 (air = 1) | ICSC |
Benzyl chloroformate corrosivity
| Property | Value | Conditions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corrosivity | Corrosive | HSDB |
Values compiled from PubChem Laboratory Chemical Safety Summary. Temperatures converted to Fahrenheit for reference.
09 · Fire and explosion
Benzyl chloroformate fire and explosion behaviour
These are descriptions rather than measured values, so they are kept out of the table above and quoted here with the source that reported them.
Benzyl chloroformate fire potential
COMBUSTIBLE
Source: Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)
10 · Handling and storage
Benzyl chloroformate storage and handling
Benzyl chloroformate safe storage
Separated from food and feedstuffs. Dry. Well closed.
Source: ILO-WHO International Chemical Safety Cards (ICSCs)
Benzyl chloroformate incompatible materials
FORMS HYDROGEN CHLORIDE (HYDROCHLORIC ACID) WITH WATER; REACTION IS VERY VIGOROUS IN COLD WATER
Source: Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)
Benzyl chloroformate reactivity
BENZYL CHLOROFORMATE decomposes slowly in water forming benzyl alcohol, HCl, and CO2. Gives off HCl fumes in moist air. Reacts with bases, both organic and inorganic. Attacks many metals especially in humid atmosphere [Handling Chemicals Safely 1980. p. 476]. Catalytic impurity incidents involving the iron catalyzed decomposition of benzoyl chloroformate have caused several explosions. The iron presumably comes from corrosion of steel storage tanks [Loss Prev. Bull., 1975, (003), 2]. May react vigorously or explosively if mixed with diisopropyl ether or other ethers in the presence of trace amounts of metal salts [J. Haz. Mat., 1981, 4, 291].
Source: CAMEO Chemicals
Planning storage for a mix of chemicals? Check Benzyl chloroformate in the storage compatibility matrix →
11 · Transport
Benzyl chloroformate UN number and transport classification
Transport classification is a separate system from the GHS classification above. It decides how a package is marked and how a load may be carried; it does not follow from the workplace label, and the workplace label does not follow from it. The entries below are linked by CAS number, never by name.
Benzyl chloroformate under UN 1739 — shipping name, class and packing group
Europe · ADR 2025, Table A
| Proper shipping name (3.1.2) | Class | Classification code | PG | Labels (column 5) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BENZYL CHLOROFORMATE | 8 | C9 | I | |
Source: ADR 2025, Table A of Chapter 3.2 · ECE/TRANS/352 Vol. I (UNECE). Class 8 is “Corrosive substances” (ADR 2.1.1.1).
United States · 49 CFR 172.101 Hazardous Materials Table
| Proper shipping name (column 2) | Class or division | PG | Labels (column 6) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benzyl chloroformate | 8 | I | |
Source: 49 CFR 172.101 Hazardous Materials Table · eCFR, revision 2026-08-03. Class 8 is “Corrosive material” (49 CFR 173.2).
12 · Questions
Benzyl chloroformate — frequently asked questions
What is the CAS number of Benzyl chloroformate?
The CAS number of Benzyl chloroformate is 501-53-1. Its EC number is 207-925-0.
What is the chemical formula of Benzyl chloroformate?
The molecular formula of Benzyl chloroformate is C8H7ClO2 and its molecular weight is 170.59 g/mol.
What does a Benzyl chloroformate label have to show?
Under CLP Annex VI the label for Benzyl chloroformate carries the pictograms Corrosion and Environment and the signal word is Danger.
Is Benzyl chloroformate flammable?
CLP Annex VI assigns Benzyl chloroformate no flammability hazard class. That is not a statement that it cannot burn: the harmonised list only records the hazards that were assessed for it. The flash point reported for it is 108.33 °C (227 °F) (HSDB).
Is Benzyl chloroformate a carcinogen?
CLP Annex VI records no harmonised carcinogenicity classification for Benzyl chloroformate. Annex VI is a list of agreed classifications, not a list of substances found safe, so this is an absence of a classification rather than a clean bill of health.
What is the boiling point of Benzyl chloroformate?
The boiling point reported for Benzyl chloroformate is 152 °C (305.6 °F), at 760 mmHg (HSDB).
What is the melting point of Benzyl chloroformate?
The melting point reported for Benzyl chloroformate is 0 °C (32 °F) (ICSC).
Nearby
Substances next to Benzyl chloroformate
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