Phosphazenium salt and preparation process thereof, and process for producing poly(alkylene oxide)

A process for the preparation of a phosphazenium salt of an active hydrogen compound, represented by the following chemical formula (1):

• ##STR18## wherein:
• n stands for an integer of from 1 to 8 and represents the number of phosphazenium cations, and
• Z.sup.n- represents an n-valent anion of an active hydrogen compound in a form derived by elimination of n protons from an active hydrogen compound having at most eight active hydrogen atoms on oxygen atoms or nitrogen atoms, said active hydrogen compound being selected from the group consisting of water, aliphatic or alicyclic alcohols having 1 to 20 carbons atoms, polyhydric aliphatic or alicyclic alcohols having 2 to 20 carbon atoms and 2 to 8 hydroxyl groups, saccharides and derivatives thereof, poly(alkylene oxides) having 2 to 8 terminals, 1 to 8 hydroxyl groups at said terminals and a molecular weight of from 100 to 50,000, polyamines having 2 to 20 carbon atoms and 2 to 3 primary or secondary amino groups, saturated cyclic secondary amines having 4 to 20 carbon atoms, and cyclic polyamines having 4 to 20 carbon atoms and 2 to 3 secondary amino groups, a, b, c and d each stands for a positive integer of 3 or smaller or 0 with the proviso that they are not all 0 at the same time, Rs represent the same or different hydrocarbon groups having 1 to 10 carbon atoms, and two Rs on each common nitrogen atom may be coupled together to form a ring structure, which comprises reacting a salt of a phosphazenium cation and an inorganic anion, said salt being represented by the following formula (3):
• ##STR19## wherein m stands for an integer of from 1 to 3 and represents the number of said phosphazenium cation, X.sup.m- represents an m-valent inorganic anion, a, b, c, d and Rs have the same meanings as defined above, with an alkali metal salt of an active hydrogen compound represented by M.sup.+.sub.n Z.sup.n- wherein M.sup.+.sub.n represents n alkali metal cations, and n and Z.sup.n- have the same meanings as defined above.