Cathodic reduction of a system comprising carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, and an aldehyde led to an effective anionic chain reaction. The best current efficiency observed was about 1 x lo4%. Such a chain reaction is an effective synthetic method for l, l, l-trichloro-2- alkanols. The reaction system consisting of methyl trichloroacetate, methyl dichloroacetate, and an aldehyde and several other systems also exhibited a similar pattem of chain ...