A process of preparing a compound by Friedel-Crafts reaction from a starting material compound, characterized in that the reaction is performed in the presence of an activated antimony pentahalide catalyst (SbHal5) and activated by hydrogen fluoride (HF);
- wherein the process of preparing the compound by Friedel-Crafts reaction is a continuous process and the continuous process is performed in at least one SiC-microreactor, and the starting material compound is fluorinated in a fluorination reaction prior to the Friedel-Crafts reaction, or the compound prepared by Friedel-Crafts reaction from said starting material compound is fluorinated in a fluorination reaction after the Friedel-Crafts reaction;
- wherein the starting material compound is a compound of the formula (I):
- wherein in the formula (I),
- Rn independently denotes one or more substituents selected from the group consisting of hydrogen (H), nitrogendioxide (NO2), halogen, a substituted or unsubstituted C1-C4 alkyl, a substituted or unsubstituted C1-C4 alkoxy, a substituted or unsubstituted C1-C4 haloalkyl wherein the halogen is selected from the group consisting of fluorine (F), chlorine (Cl), bromine (Br) and Iodine (I), and a substituted or unsubstituted C1-C4 haloalkoxy wherein the halogen is selected from the group consisting of fluorine (F), chlorine (Cl), bromine (Br) and Iodine (I);
- and
- Hal denotes a halogen having chloro group:
- wherein the fluorination reaction is a continuous process and is performed in at least one SiC-microreactor under the following conditions:
- flow rate:
- of from about 10 ml/h up to about 400 l/h;
- temperature:
- of from about 30° C. up to about 150° C.;
- pressure:
- of from about 4 bar up to about 50 bar;
- and
- residence time:
- of from about 1 second up to about 60 minutes;
- wherein a Friedel-Crafts reagent is selected from the group consisting of the compounds having the formula (II), the formula (III), and the formula (IV):
- wherein in the formula (II):
- R′n independently denotes one or more substituents selected from the group consisting of hydrogen (H), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), halogen, a substituted or unsubstituted C1-C4 alkyl, a substituted or unsubstituted C1-C4 alkoxy, a substituted or unsubstituted C1-C4 haloalkyl wherein the halogen is selected from the group consisting of fluorine (F), chlorine (Cl), bromine (Br) and Iodine (I), and a substituted or unsubstituted C1-C4 haloalkoxy group wherein the halogen (Hal) is selected from the group consisting of fluorine (F), chlorine (Cl), bromine (Br) and Iodine (I);
- and
- R1 and R2 independently from each other denote a hydrogen, a tri-halogeno methyl group (—CHal3), a halogenocarbonyl group (—(C═O)Hal) or a halogeno methyl group (—CH2Hal), and at least one of R1 and R2 is a tri-halogeno methyl group (—CHal3), and a halogeno carbonyl group (—(C═O)Hal) or a halogeno methyl group (—CH2Hal), wherein each halogen (Hal) is selected from the group consisting of fluorine (F), chlorine (Cl), bromine (Br) and Iodine (I);
- wherein in the formula (III):
- R3 independently denotes a substituted or unsubstituted C1-C4 alkyl, a substituted or unsubstituted C1-C4 haloalkyl wherein the halogen is selected from the group consisting of fluorine (F) and chlorine, and
- X represents a halogen selected from the group consisting of fluorine (F), chlorine (Cl), bromine (Br) and Iodine (I) or X represents an anhydride group —O—(C═O)—R′3, wherein R′3 independently has the meaning as defined for R3;
- wherein in the formula (IV):
- R4 is a C1-C4-perfluoroalkyl or a C1-C4 chlorofluoroalkyl, and
- Y represents a halogen at any position in R4, and wherein the halogen is selected from chlorine (Cl), bromine (Br) and Iodine (I).