Process for the production of polyphenylene oxides
AssigneeChemische Werke Huls Aktiengesellschaft
InventorsMartin Bartmann, Hanns-Jorg Bax, Klaus Burzin, Wilfried Ribbing
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Abstract
A process for the production of polyphenylene oxides by the oxidative coupling of a diorthosubstituted phenol of the formula: ##STR1## wherein R and R' are an n-alkyl radical with 1 to about 6 carbon atoms or a phenyl radical in the presence of an oxidizing gas and an activated copper(II)-amine catalyst made of copper(II) salts, secondary aliphatic or cyclic amines having about 4 to 10 carbon atoms, and hydrobromides of the same or different secondary aliphatic or cyclic amines having about 4 to 10 carbon atoms, in a solvent mixture of a C.sub.6 -C.sub.8 aromatic hydrocarbon and a C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 aliphatic alcohol.
Claims15
A process for the production of polyphenylene oxides which comprises oxidatively coupling a diorthosubstituted phenol having the formula:
- ##STR4## wherein R and R' are C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 n-alkyl or phenyl, in the presence of an oxidizing gas and an activated copper (II)-amine catalyst, consisting of a mixture of
- (a) equivalents of a copper salt, CuX.sub.2 of the formula wherein X is the anion of an organic acid or an inorganic acid;
- (b) equivalents of a secondary C.sub.4 -C.sub.10 aliphatic or cyclic amine;
- and
- (c) equivalents of a hydrobromide of the same or a different secondary C.sub.4 -C.sub.10 aliphatic or cyclic amine;
- in a solvent mixture of a C.sub.6 -C.sub.8 aromatic hydrocarbon and a lower aliphatic alcohol in a ratio of 92.5:75 to 50:50;
- thereby preventing precipitation of the formed polyphenylene oxide during reaction.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.