page_title: Aldrin
section_title: Synthesis
hierarchical_section_title: Aldrin / Synthesis
caption_attribution_description: English: Aldrin synthesis
context_page_description: Aldrin is an organochlorine insecticide that was widely used until the 1990s, when it was banned in most countries. Aldrin is a member of the so-called "classic organochlorines" group of pesticides. COCs enjoyed a very sharp rise in popularity during and after The Second World War. Other noteworthy examples of COCs include DDT. After research showed that organochlorines can be highly toxic to the ecosystem through bioaccumulation, most were banned from use. It is a colourless solid. Before the ban, it was heavily used as a pesticide to treat seed and soil. Aldrin and related "cyclodiene" pesticides became notorious as persistent organic pollutants.
context_section_description: Aldrin is not formed in nature. It is synthesized by combining hexachlorocyclopentadiene with norbornadiene in a Diels-Alder reaction to give the adduct.  In 1967, the composition of technical-grade aldrin was reported to consist of 90.5% of hexachlorohexahydrodimethanonaphthalene (HHDN).
  Similarly, an isomer of aldrin, known as isodrin, is produced by reaction of hexachloronobornadiene with cyclopentadiene. Isodrin is also produced as a byproduct of aldrin synthesis, with technical-grade aldrin containing about 3,5% isodrin.
  Aldrin is named after the German chemist Kurt Alder, one of the coinventors of this kind of reaction.  An estimated 270 million kilograms of aldrin and related cyclodiene pesticides were produced between 1946 and 1976.
caption: Synthesis of aldrin via a Diels-Alder reaction
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