Substituted triazines and a method for producing same

A process for producing para-disubstituted benzonitriles of formula (IV)

• wherein R1, R2, R3 and R4 are each independently hydrogen, halogen, alkyl, alkoxy, alkenyl, alkynyl, alkylthio, alkylseleno, wherein R1 and R2 and/or R3 and R4 may combine to form a 3 to 5-membered saturated or unsaturated bridge optionally substituted with up to 2 heteroatoms and R5 is linear C5 to C20 alkyl which is optionally substituted in any manner by halogen and/or C1 to C10 alkyl and/or C1 to C10 alkoxy and in which up to six carbon atoms may be replaced by oxygen, in which case at least two carbon atoms shall be present between two oxygen atoms and the R5 moiety starts with at least two carbon atoms, wherein the terminal methyl group of the linear C5 to C20 alkyl moiety shall be unsubstituted and R6 is methyl, ethyl or isomeric propyl, and A is a catalyst A, in a one-pot process wherein component (III) is used in excess, components (V), (III) and (IV) are distillatively removed in the stated order in three steps by adjusting the pressure and the temperature, and the difference in the boiling points of compounds (V) and (III) and in the boiling points of compounds (III) and (IV) is not less than 50° C. in either case;
• wherein said catalyst A is a titanium(IV) or zirconium(IV) alkanoate wherein the alkanoate corresponds to that of compound (III).