(1946). good yield. This acid chloride was not isolated as such but converted to 2-nitr0-4- chlorophenylmer-captoacetic acid, which had previously been prepared by Pollack, Riesz and Kahane6 by the reaction of sodium chloroacetate with the sodium salt of 2-nitro-4- chlorophenylmercaptan. The new synthesis here reported seems to offer an easy approach to the mercaptoacetic acids. The ready reaction of ketene with 2-nitro-4- ...