Production of Glycidyl Compounds
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Office europeen des brevets (fi) Publication number : 0 491 529 A1 @ EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION @ Application number : 91311630.7 © Int. CI.5: C07D 301/28, C07D 303/24 (22) Date of filing : 13.12.91 (30) Priority : 18.12.90 GB 9027448 (72) Inventor : Thoseby, Michael Robert 29 De Freville Avenue Cambridge (GB) (43) Date of publication of application : Inventor : Rolfe, William Martin 24.06.92 Bulletin 92/26 42 Vetch Walk Haverhill, Suffolk (GB) (S) Designated Contracting States : CH DE ES FR GB IT LI NL (74) Representative : Sparrow, Kenneth D. et al CIBA-GEIGY PLC. Patent Department, Central Research, Hulley Road @ Applicant : CIBA-GEIGY AG Macclesfield, Cheshire SK10 2NX (GB) Klybeckstrasse 141 CH-4002 Basel (CH) (54) Production of glycidyl compounds. (57) A process for the production of a glycidyl ether of an alcohol, comprising reacting an alcohol with epichlorohydrin, in substantially the stoichiometric proportions required to pro- duce the 1:1 adduct, in the presence, as catal- yst, of a salt of perchloric acid or trifluoromethane sulphonic acid with a metal of Group IMA of the Periodic Table of Elements (according to the IUPAC 1970 convention) ; and then dehydrochlorinating the product so obtained. CM LU Jouve, 18, rue Saint-Denis, 75001 PARIS 1 EP 0 491 529 A1 2 The present invention relates to a process for the 100 parts by weight of the alcohol reactant. production of glycidyl compounds. The alcohol reactant may be a primary, secon- The addition reaction between epoxides and dary or tertiary alcohol. While monohydric alcohols alcohols, in the presence of a catalyst, to produce an may be used, e.g. a straight - or branched CrC12 prim- ether- alcohol is well known. 5 ary -, secondary - or tertiary aliphatic monohydric In U.S. Patent 4543430, there is described a pro- alcohol such as methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, isop- cess for the preparation of addition products of ropanol, tert-butanol, 2-ethyl-1-hexanol, n-hexanol, n- epoxides and hydroxylated compounds. The epoxide octanol, n-decanol or n-dodecanol, preferably the used is an alkylene oxide or epichlorohydrin and the alcohol reactant contains two or more hydroxyl groups hydroxylated compound is an alcohol, an alkyleneg- 10 per molecule. lycol monoalkylether, a phenol compound or water, Preferred polyhydroxy reactants are those having the ratio of the hydroxylated compound/epoxide being the formula; between 2 and 20 by weight. The reaction is carried Q(OH)m I out in a homogeneous liquid phase at a temperature wherein m is an integer from 2 to 10, preferably 2 to between 40° and 250°C. The catalyst is a) a tetra- 15 6 and Q is an m-valent aliphatic, cycloaliphatic or alkylammonium triflate or b) a trifluoromethanesul- araliphatic residue. When Q is a divalent residue, it phonic acid salt of an alkali metal, a metal of Group II may be, e.g., a straight chain or branched alkylene of the Periodic Table of Elements, aluminium, cobalt, residue; or a cycloalkylene residue in which the ring nickel, zirconium or tin. The catalyst concentration in may be optionally substituted, e.g. by alkyl groups or the reaction mixture is from 1 to 100 ppm. 20 interrupted by heteroatoms, e.g. O or S atoms or sev- The process described in U.S. 4543430 has cer- eral cycloalkyl residues may be bonded together, tain deficiences. Although the catalyst used is des- optionally via a bridge member. When Q is trivalent or cribed as highly active and highly selective, the a highervalency, Q may be an organic residue having asserted high selectivity is ensured not so much by aliphatic, cycloalipharic or araliphatic structual ele- the nature of the catalyst, as by the use of a large 25 ments. Q may be substituted with functional groups excess of the hydroxylated compound, relative to the provided that such groups do not inactivate the Group epoxide (see column 2, lines 51 to 53 of U.S. IMA metal perchlorate or triflate catalyst and do not 4543430), thereby guaranteeing more of the desired undergo competing reactions with epichlorohydrin. 1:1 epoxide : hydroxylated compound adduct, but Suitable functional groups are, e.g. ester groups as resulting in increased process costs. 30 contained in polycaprolactones, and unsaturated Surprisingly, we have now found that by choos- groups, e.g. those contained in hydroxyl-terminated ing, as catalyst, a specific metal salt of perchloric acid polybutadienes or polybutadiene copolymers. or trifluoromethane sulphonic acid (triflic acid) namely Specific examples of preferred aliphatic diol reac- a salt of a metal of Group IMA of the Periodic System, tants of formula I include diethylene glycol, triethylene reaction of epichlorohydrin with an alcohol, followed 35 glycol and higher polyoxyethylene glycols; propane- by dehydrochlorination produces a high degree of 1, 2-diol, propane-1, 3-diol and higher polyoxyp- selectivity for the 1:1 glycidylated alcohol product, ropylene glycols; neopentyl glycol; butane-1,4-diol, while using only substantially stoichiometric amounts and higher poly(oxytetramethylene)glycols; pentane- of the epichlorhydrin and the alcohol. The amount of 1, 5-diol; hexane-1, 6-diol; and octane-1, 8-diol; included chlorine is significantly reduced compared to 40 Examples of preferred aliphatic triols of formula I are chlorine contents of epoxy resins prepared using con- 1,1,1-trimethylol propane, glycerol and 1,1,1-trimethy- ventional catalysts. lolethane. Other triols of formula I which are commer- Accordingly, the present invention provides a pro- cially - available and are preferred for use in the cess for the production of a glycidyl ether of an present invention include adducts of simple polyols alcohol, comprising reacting an alcohol with 45 such as glycerol, hexane-1 ,2,5-triol, hexane-1, 2,6- epichlorohydrin, in substantially the stoichiometric triol, hexane-2,4,6-triol with propylene oxide and/or proportions required to produce the 1:1 adduct in the ethylene oxide. presence, as catalyst, of a salt of perchloric acid or of Tetrafu notional aliphatic alcohols which are pre- trifluoromethanesu I phonic acid with a metal of Group ferred include pentaerythritol and 3,3,7,7-tetra(hyd- IMA of the Periodic Table of Elements (according to 50 roxymethyl)-5-oxanonane. the IUPAC 1970 convention); and then dehydrochlori- Preferred higher aliphatic poly-hydroxy com- nating the product so obtained. pounds include dipentaerythritol,tripentaerythritol, Preferably, the Group MIA metal salts are those of mannitol, sorbitol, polyvinyl alcohol, partially hyd- lanthanum, cerium, ytterbium or yttrium. rolyzed polyvinyl esters of acetals, and hydroxyalkyl The amount of the Group IMA perchlorate or trif- 55 acrylate, methacrylate or itaconate polymers and late catalyst present in the alcohol/epichlorohydrin copolymers. reaction mixture generally ranges from 0.1 to 1 0 parts Preferred cycloaliphatic alcohols of formula I by weight, preferably from 0.1 to 2 parts by weight per include resorcitol, quinitol, bis(4-hydroxycyclohexyl) 2 3 EP 0 491 529 A1 4 methane, 2,2-bis (4-hydroxycyclohexyl) propane, pyrrolidone, gamma-butyrolactone, benzyl alcohol, cyclohexanedimethanol and 1,1-bis (hydroxymethyl) dibutyl phthalate, methyl ethylketone or toluene. The cyclohex-3-one. dehydrochlorinating agent is preferably added por- Alcohols of formula I having araliphatic residues tionwise, preferably in solid form, over an extended include N,N-bis(2-hydroxyethyl) aniline and p,p'- 5 period, e.g. over a period ranging from 1 0 minutes to bis(N-(2-hydroxyethyl) aminophenyl) methane. 6 hours. Alcohols of formula I containing further functional The dehydrochlorination reaction mixture may be groups which are preferred include polycaprolactone worked up in conventional manner e.g. by washing diols and polyols and derivatives of poly with water and separating and purifying, e.g. by dis- (epichlorohydrin). 10 tillation, the organic phase containing the desired Other alcohols of interest are adducts of an glycidylated alcohol product. alkylene oxide, e.g. ethylene oxide or propylene oxide The glycidylated alcohol epoxide resins obtained with mononuclear phenols such as resorcinol or according to the process of the present invention may hydroquinone, and polynuclear phenols such as be cured in conventional manner or used as diluents bis(4-hydroxyphenyl) methane, bis(4-hydroxyphenyl) 15 for other epoxy resins so cured. Curing agents which sulphone, 1,1,2,2-tetrakis (4-hydroxyphenyl) ethane, may be used include aliphatic amines; dicyan- 2,2-bis (4-hydroxyphenyl) propane, 2,2-bis (3,5-dib- diamide; aromatic amines such as bis (3-ami- romo-4-hydroxyphenyl) propane, and novolacs for- nophenyl)- and bis(4-aminophenyl) sulphone and med from aldehydes such as formaldehyde, bis(4-aminophenyl) methane, which are usually used acetaldehyde, chloral and furfuraldehyde, with 20 together with an accelerator such as a BF3 - amine phenols such as phenol itself, 4-chlorophenol, 2- complex; and carboxylic acids, polycarboxylic acid methylphenol and 4-tert butylphenol. Further alcohols anhydrides such as phthalic anhydride, cyclohexane- of interest are styrene-ally alcohol copolymers. 1,2-dicarboxylic acid anydride, methylbicyclo [2,2,1] The process according to the present invention is hept-5-ene-2,3-dicarboxylicacid anhydride, pyromel- conveniently conducted by firstly heating a mixture of 25 litic acid dianhydride and benzophenone tetracar- the alcohol reactant and the Group IMA perchlorate or boxylic acid dianhydride. triflate catalyst, preferably with agitation, until a liquid The present invention also provides cured pro- solution is obtained. When the temperature of the sol- ducts, e.g. castings or fibre - reinforced composites, ution reaches a temperature within the range of from comprising a material obtained by curing a glycidy- 50°C to 200°C, especially a temperature within the 30 lated alcohol epoxide resin produced by a process range of from 100°C to 150°C, the epichlorhydrin is according to the present invention. conveniently added, preferably with agitation of the reaction mixture.