Basf Se Corporation

Yvonne Richter

Reinhard Sommerlade

Nicole End

A process for the preparation of an 1,1-disubstituted oxirane is disclosed, wherein an organic sulphide is reacted in a polar solvent with an educt containing a leaving group attached to a primary or secondary carbon atom, and/or the sulfonium salt formed in this way is reacted with a ketone in presence of a base and a polar solvent. Oxiranes of the type obtained may be further converted into the corresponding &#x3b1;-hydroxyketone or &#x3b1;-aminoketone, either in one step by subjecting to aerobic oxidation in the presence of a transition metal catalyst, or in two steps by hydrolyzation in the presence of an aqueous acid to the corresponding dialcohol and subsequent selective oxidation. Further described are some novel epoxide intermediates. The &#x3b1;-hydroxyketones and &#x3b1;-aminoketones thus obtainable are useful inter alia as photoinitiators.

Preparation of alpha-hydroxyketones

A process for the preparation of an 1,1-disubstituted oxirane is disclosed, wherein an organic sulphide is reacted in a polar solvent with an educt containing a leaving group attached to a primary or secondary carbon atom, and/or the sulfonium salt formed in this way is reacted with a ketone in presence of a base and a polar solvent. Oxiranes of the type obtained may be further converted into the corresponding &#x3b1;-hydroxyketone or &#x3b1;-aminoketone, either in one step by subjecting to aerobic oxidation in the presence of a transition metal catalyst, or in two steps by hydrolyzation in the presence of an aqueous acid to the corresponding dialcohol and subsequent selective oxidation. Further described are some novel epoxide intermediates. The &#x3b1;-hydroxyketones and &#x3b1;-aminoketones thus obtainable are useful inter alga as photoinitiators.

Growing community of inventors

Zell im Wiesental, Germany

Yvonne Richter