Asahi Kasei Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Susumu Furuhashi

Teruyuki Misumi

Masaaki Shiga

A novel process for the preparation of an N,N'-disubstituted tetrahydro-4,4'-bipyridyl by electrolytic dimerization of the corresponding N-substituted pyridinium salt, characterized in that, using a system including an electrolytic cell having at least one diaphragm and an extractor disposed outside the electrolytic cell, the electrolytic dimerization is carried out while an aqueous catholyte containing the corresponding N-substituted pyridinium salt is circulated between the electrolytic cell and the extractor in which the product is extracted into an extraction solvent, followed by separation of the aqueous phase which alone is recycled into the electrolytic cell. According to the process of the present invention, the electrolytic dimerization can be continued stably for a long time, a high current efficiency can be attained and the desired product can be obtained in high yield.

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Yokohama, Japan

Susumu Furuhashi