Conversion of carboxylic acids into acid chlorides with SOCl2
Description: Thionyl chloride converts carboxylic acids into acid chlorides. The reaction liberates HCl and SO2 gas.
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What kind of solution should this reaction be done in?
It’s often done in thionyl chloride as solvent. See the Org Syn reference. http://www.orgsyn.org/demo.aspx?prep=CV1P0147
(note that these days it’s more common to use oxalyl chloride w/ DMF as a catalyst under Vilsmeier conditions).
can you not use PBr3 to do this aswell?
Yes – you could use PBr3 to make an acid bromide.