The Dow Chemical Company

Thomas J Hairston

George E Ham

Georgia A Monnerat

Melvin J Hatch

The performance of epoxy resins in several end-uses is enhanced by the presence of small quantities of hydrolyzed resin terminated by .alpha.-glycol groups. The invention is a process in which a mixture that contains liquid epoxy resin and water is reacted at elevated temperatures in order to hydrolyze epoxy groups into .alpha.-glycol groups, characterized in that: (1) the reaction temperature is between 130.degree. C. and 200.degree. C; (2) the reaction mixture contains 0.5 and 10 parts water per 100 parts resin by weight; and (3) the mixture contains 0 to 1 weight percent organic solvents and 0 to 100 ppm each of: organic acids, organic diacids, phosphonium compounds, and alkali or alkaline earth metals and their salts. The process raises the level of .alpha.-glycol groups in the resin, but uses no solvents or catalysts, so that it is easy to clean up the resulting resin.

Method to increase the level of .alpha.-glycol in liquid epoxy resin

Catalysts for reacting vicinal epoxides with an aromatic hydroxyl-containing material result from the treatment of a solid substrate containing a plurality of ion-exchangeable cations with a polymer containing a multiplicity of quaternary onium cations in association with a reactive anion such that after treatment, there remains a sufficient quantity of the quaternary onium cations in association with the reactive anion to catalyze the reaction. These catalysts reduce the quantity of side reactions.

Catalyst for reacting phenolic hydroxyl groups with epoxy groups

An improved process for obtaining bisphenols by reaction of a phenol, or substituted phenol having a hydrogen in the para position, and an alkenyl ether, wherein the unsaturation in the ether is in the alpha position, in the presence of a strong acid catalyst. The process gives particularly good results when bisisopropenyl ether is reacted with phenol in the presence of a strong acid cation exchange resin in which part of the exchange sites have been neutralized with 2,2-dimethylthiazolidine.

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Lake Jackson, TX, United States of America

Thomas J Hairston