Oxidation of alkylaromatics
AssigneeSolvay Interox Limited
InventorsAlexander Johnstone, Kenneth T. Rowbottom, William R. Sanderson, Martin Jeff, Miranda Service
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Abstract
A process for the controlled oxidation of alkyaromatic compounds comprises reacting said compounds with an oxidising system, comprising cobalt (II) ions, bromide ions, and hydrogen peroxide, in the presence of an appropriate protic solvent. The process is particularly useful in the selective oxidation of poly(alkyl)aromatic compounds.
Claims32
A process for oxidising an alkylaromatic compound comprising reacting said alkylaromatic compound with an oxidising system in the presence of a protic solvent selected from the group consisting of carboxylic acids having one to five carbon atoms, said alkylaromatic compound having at least one alkyl substituent which is not tertiary at the carbon positioned alpha to the aromatic ring, said oxidising system comprising at least 0.01 moles of cobalt (III) ions per mole of alkylaromatic compound, at least 0.01 moles of bromide ions per mole of alkylaromatic compound, and more than 0.5 mole of hydrogen peroxide per mole of alkylaromatic compound.
A process for oxidising a monoalkylaromatic compound comprising reacting said monoalkylaromatic compound with an oxidising system in the presence of a protic solvent selected from the group consisting of carboxylic acids having from one to five carbon atoms, said monoalkylaromatic compound having an alkyl substituent which is not tertiary at the carbon positioned alpha to the aromatic ring, said oxidising system comprising 0.02 to 0.12 moles of cobalt (III) ions per mole of monoalkylaromatic compound, 0.02 to 0.2 moles of bromide ions per mole of monoalkylaromatic compound and more than 0.5 mole of hydrogen peroxide per mole of monoalkylaromatic compound.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.