Arteva North America S.a.r.l.

Sheldon Christopher Sherman

David Anthony Schiraldi

Mark Gilmore White

Alexei Viktorovich Iretski

Dhiraj Sudesh Sood

Laren Malcolm Tolbert

A substituted diaryl compound or a mixture of substituted diaryl compounds, such as dimethylbiaryl compounds are isomerized by treatment with a strong acid or mixtures of strong acids in the absence of any additional catalyst. The strong acid or mixture of acids has a Hammett acidity of less than about &minus;12.6. The isomerization reaction conditions such as reaction temperature, amount of acid, and amount of solvent can be adjusted to selectively produce desired isomers in high yields. One or more desired isomers may be produced in high yields by isomerization of substituted diaryl compounds and selectively removing one or more desired isomers from the resulting equilibrium mixture of isomers. The isomer mixture may be re-isomerized subsequent to selective removal of the desired isomer to produce additional amounts of desired isomer. The isomerization may be employed to substantially reduce the amount of at least one isomer substituted in the 2-position or to substantially increase the amount of at least one isomer substituted in at least the 3-position, the 4-position or the 4-position for the production of at least substantially linear or crystalline polymers.

Acid catalyzed isomerization of substituted diaryls

A catalytic process for production of biphenyl and its derivatives by coupling of substituted or unsubstituted monoaryl compounds in the presence of a catalytic system comprising at least one Pd (II) compound and a strong acid or a mixture of acids. The process provides high conversions and high selectivity under mild temperature conditions and short reaction times. The strong acid or mixture of acids has a Hammett acidity of less than about -10, and contains a predominant amount of counterions which form a weak ligand complex with palladium (II). The method is highly selective to formation of desired biaryl isomers, such as 4,4'-isomers, and allows control of the relative amounts of isomers of biaryl compounds and substituted monoaryl compounds in the final product.

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Snellville, GA, United States of America

Sheldon Christopher Sherman