,-Diacetoxy-2,4-dichloro-5-nitrobenzaldehyde

The title compound, (2,4-dichloro-5-nitrophenyl)methylene diacetate, C₁₁H₉Cl₂NO₆, was obtained as an unexpected product from the reaction of 2,4-dichloro-5-nitrobenzaldehyde with 2-benzothiazole in refluxing acetic anhydride. The single-crystal X-ray analysis showed the phenyl ring to be slightly disorientated with respect to the idealized C_s symmetry which the molecule would otherwise possess. Thus, the dihedral angle between C(1)-C(7)-H(3) and the phenyl ring is 29.8 (4)°.