Mitsui Toatsu Chemicals, Incorporated

Nobukatu Kato

Yoshio Morimoto

Tsutomu Takase

Teruo Yuasa

Minoru Hattori

A novel process for producing alkenyl phenols, which comprises continuously feeding a dihydroxydiphenyl alkane such as 2,2-(4,4'-dihydroxydiphenyl)propane, 2,2-(4,4'-dihydroxy-3,3'-dimethyldiphenyl)propane, 2,2-(4,4'-dihydroxydiphenyl)butane, 2,2-(4,4'-dihydroxydiphenyl)-4-methylpentane, 1,1,1-(4,4'-dihydroxytriphenyl)ethane and 1,1-(4,4'-dihydroxydiphenyl)cyclohexane into a high-boiling inert organic reaction medium such as an alkylnaphthalene containing a basic catalyst and heated at 150.degree. to 250.degree. C. under 10 to 100 mmHg while maintaining the concentration of the dihydroxydiphenyl alkane in the reaction medium at not more than 30% by weight, thereby cleaving it in the reaction medium; and continuously distilling off the cleavage product out of the reaction system and recovering it. This process can afford the corresponding highly pure alkenyl phenol as a monomer and/or its polymer almost quantitatively.

Process for cleaving dihydroxydiphenyl alkanes

A novel process for producing isopropenyl phenol such as p-isopropenyl phenol which comprises continuously feeding oligomers of isopropenyl phenol having a degree of polymerization of 2 to 5 into a high-boiling inert organic reaction medium such as an alkylnaphthalene heated at 150.degree. to 250.degree. C. under a pressure of 10 to 100 mmHg while maintaining the concentration of the oligomers in the reaction medium at not more than 30% by weight, thereby thermally decomposing the oligomers in the reaction medium; and continuously distilling off the resulting isopropenyl phenol out of the reaction system and recovering it. The process almost quantitatively gives isopropenyl phenol having reduced contents of impurities.

Growing community of inventors

Tokai, Japan

Nobukatu Kato