Haloacetic acids

Haloacetic acids are carboxylic acids in which a halogen atom takes the place of a hydrogen atom in acetic acid. Thus, in a monohaloacetic acid, a single halogen would replace a hydrogen atom. For example, chloroacetic acid would have the structural formula CH₂ClCO₂H. In the same manner, in dichloroacetic acid two chlorine atoms would take the place of two hydrogen atoms (CHCl₂CO₂H). The inductive effect caused by the electronegative halogens often result in the higher acidity of these compounds by stabilising the negative charge of the conjugate base.