Process for preparing amido phenyl esters

A process for preparing amido phenyl esters of the formula I

• where
• A is a group of the formula —CONR2—or —NR2CO—,
• R1 is C1-C26-alkyl, C2-C26-alkenyl, C2-C26-alkynyl or C3-C8-cycloalkyl or an aryl or alkylaryl group each having from 6 to 14 carbon atoms,
• R2 is hydrogen or C1-C26-alkyl, C2-C26-alkenyl, C2-C26-alkynyl or C3-C8-cycloalkyl or an aryl or alkylaryl group each having from 6 to 14 carbon atoms,
• R3 and R4, which can be identical or different, are each hydrogen or C1-C10-alkyl, C2-C10-alkenyl, C2-C10-alkynyl or C3-C8-cycloalkyl,
• R5 is hydrogen, halogen or C1-C6-alkyl, C2-C6-alkenyl, C2-C6-alkynyl, C3-C8-cycloalkyl or C1-C6-alkoxy, n is a number from 1 to 10, X is a group of the formulae SO3M, OSO3M, (CH2)mSO3M, (CH2)mOSO3M, CO2M and N(R6)3Y,
• where M is hydrogen or an alkali metal ion,
• R6 is an alkyl group having from 1 to 6 carbon atoms or a cycloalkyl group having from 3 to 8 carbon atoms,
• Y is a halogen atom and
• m is 1 or 2,
• which comprises adding an inorganic acid halide to a melt of the compound of the formula II
• freeing the resulting amidocarboxylic acid halide under reduced pressure from waste gases which remain, and reacting this amidocarboxylic acid halide in a second reaction step with a phenol derivative of the formula III
• suspended in a suitable organic solvent.