Method of manufacturing ortho-substituted alkylphenols, and catalyst therefor

Abstract

A method of manufacturing orthosubstituted alkylphenols, employing a catalyst of increased activity, by reacting phenol or 2-alkylphenols with 2-alkyl-1-alkenes and/or 2-aryl-1-alkenes in the liquid phase, optionally in the presence of inert diluents and/or an excess of the alkene, wherein the reaction is carried out in the presence of modified aluminum-containing catalysts obtained by adding small amounts of polyhalophenols, each having at least 3 like or unlike halogen substituents from the group of the elements fluorine, chlorine, and bromine, serving as cocatalysts, to known aluminum trisphenolate catalysts, wherein the molar ratio between the cocatalysts and the aluminum compound is in the range 0.5:1-8:1. The invention also relates to the catalyst for manufacturing the ortho-alkylated phenols, which catalyst is comprised of the (2-alkyl)phenol undergoing alkylation, an organoaluminum compound, and a polyhalophenol as the (or a) cocatalyst.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.