Mitsui Toatsu Chemicals, Incorporated

Takeo Harayama

Takeo Yoshimoto

Teruhiko Toyama

Yoshio Takasawa

Masaaki Ura

Yoshikata Hojo

Osamu Morikawa

Keiichi Igarashi

Hideo Michiyama

Takayuki Inoue

Takao Baba

Naoki Sato

Taisuke Kurechi

Osamu Morikama

Nitrodiphenyl ether derivatives of the general formula: ##STR1## wherein X represents chlorine, fluorine, methyl or trifluoromethyl and n is an integer of 1-3 are valuable as herbicides, the compounds and compositions containing these compounds possessing an excellent herbicidal activity to a wide variety of undesirable weeds with an extremely low toxicity to useful crops.

Herbicidal compounds and compositions

Herbicidal diphenyl ether compound

Nitrodiphenyl ether derivatives of the general formula: ##STR1## wherein X stands for Cl, F, CH.sub.3 or CF.sub.3, n is an integer of 1-3 with the proviso that X may be the same or different when n is 2 or 3 but X.sub.n should not be 2,4-dichloro substituent, Are valuable as herbicides possessing an excellent herbicidal activity to a wide variety of undesirable weeds with an extremely low toxicity to useful crops. These nitrodiphenyl ether derivatives are prepared by hydroxyethylation of a compound of the above general formula except that a halogen atom is present in place of nitro group and subsequent halogenation of the .beta.-hydroxyethoxy group of the resulting compound.

Nitro-diphenyl ethers

2,4-Dichloro-3'-(.beta.-chloroethoxy)-4'-nitrodiphenyl ether is prepared by condensing 2,3',4-trichloro-4'-nitrodiphenyl ether with ethyleneglycol in the presence of an acid-binding agent and then chlorinating the hydroxyethoxy group of the resulting condensate. This compound posesses an excellent herbicidal activity to a wide variety of undesirable weeds with an extremely low phyto-toxicity to useful crops.

Herbicides

Growing community of inventors

Kamakura, Japan

Takeo Harayama