Process for preparing meta-substituted halophenols

In a process for preparing a phenol which is meta-substituted by halogen by contacting a halogen phenol of the formula ##STR5## wherein X.sup.1 and X.sup.2 are identical or different and represent halogen, hydrogen, aryl selected from the group consisting of phenyl, naphthyl and aralkyl wherein the aralkyl group has 7 to 18 carbon atoms of which the alkyl portion has up to 6 carbon atoms, substituted aryl or substituted aralkyl wherein the substituent is selected from the group consisting of hydroxyl, halogen, alkyl having 1 to 6 carbon atoms, cycloalkyl having 5 to 6 carbon atoms, with at least one of the radicals X.sup.1 or X.sup.2 representing a halogen, and

• R.sup.1, r.sup.2 and R.sup.3 are identical or different and represent hydrogen, aryl selected from the group consisting of phenyl, naphthyl and aralkyl having 7 to 18 carbon atoms of which the alkyl portion has up to 6 carbon atoms, substituted aryl or aralkyl wherein the substituent is a hydroxyl group, halogen, an alkyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms, a cycloalkyl group having 5 or 6 carbon atoms, chlorine, bromine or iodine, with at least one of the radicals R.sup.1, R.sup.2, and R.sup.3 representing chlorine, bromine or iodine,
• with hydrogen under a pressure of 20 to 250 atmospheres at an elevated temperature of 100.degree. to 350.degree. C in the presence of a catalyst, the improvement which comprises employing as the catalyst a catalyst consisting essentially of elemental sulfur, an inorganic sulfur compound selected from the group consisting of hydrogen sulfide, a sulfide or polysulfide or an alkyali metal or alkaline earth metal, or an organic sulfur compound selected from the group consisting of carbon disulfide, carbon oxysulfide, thiocarbonic acid ethyl ester, a xanthic acid derivative, a thiourethane, thiourea, a thiocarbonic acid or its derivative, a thioaldehyde, a thiol, a thiophenol, a thioalkane, thioaxane, dithiane, disulfide and a thioketone.