Claims
- 1. A method for the epoxidation of olefins by hydrogen peroxide which comprises reacting in a liquid phase an olefin with an anhydrous solution of hydrogen peroxide in organic solvent, substantially inert with respect to reagents and epoxide formed, said solvent being in a concentration sufficient to maintain a single liquid phase under reaction conditions, at a temperature between about 0.degree. C. and 120.degree. C. in the presence of a catalyst selected from B.sub.2 O.sub.3 or metaboric acid, which is able to act as a catalyst for the reaction or to generate such a catalyst and is able to remove water from the reaction mixture, in an amount from about 0.5 mole to 10 moles per mole of hydrogen peroxide.
- 2. The method according to claim 1 in which the olefin is ethylene, propylene or butene.
- 3. A method according to claim 1 in which the organic solvent is selected from ethers, alcohols, polyols, or esters.
- 4. A method according to claim 3 wherein the organic solvent is selected from oligomers of ethylene oxide, propylene oxide, corresponding methyl ethers, ethyl ethers and the formate, acetate or propionate species thereof.
- 5. A method according to claim 3 wherein the reaction is effected in the presence of diethylene glycol dimethyl ether as the solvent.
- 6. A method according to claim 3 wherein the reaction is effected in the presence of dioxane as the solvent.
- 7. A method according to claim 1 in which the olefin has the general formula: ##STR3## in which R.sub.1, R.sub.2, R.sub.3 and R.sub.4 are identical or different and represent either a hydrogen atom, a straight alkyl radical having from 1 to 30 carbon atoms, a branched alkyl radical or cycloalkyl radical, either substituted or unsubstituted and having from 3 to 12 carbon atoms, a hydrocarbon radical having from 6 to 12 carbon atoms and containing a phenyl group which may be substituted or unsubstituted by alkyl groups: R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 or R.sub.3 and R.sub.4 together may also represent a straight or branched alkylene group having from 2 to 11 carbon atoms or R.sub.1 and R.sub.3 or R.sub.2 and R.sub.4 together may represent a linear or branched alkylene group having from 1 to 10 carbon atoms: the radicals R.sub.1, R.sub.2, R.sub.3 and R.sub.4 can be unsaturated and/or substituted with functional groups which are stable in the reaction medium, such as hydroxy, chloro, fluoro, bromo, iodo, nitro, nitroso, alkoxy, amino, carbonyl, alkylcarbonyl, carboxylic acid, carboxylic acid ester, amide or carbamyl, nitrile or cyano and the like.
- 8. A method according to claim 1 in which the reaction temperature is between 70.degree. C. and 100.degree. C.
- 9. A method according to claim 1 in which the pressure of reaction is between about 1 bar and 100 bars.
- 10. A method according to claim 1 in which the reactor contains 0.1 to 50 moles of olefins per mole of hydrogen peroxide.
- 11. A method according to claim 1 in which the hydrogen peroxide is applied in organic solution titrating between 1% and 30% by weight of hydrogen peroxide.
Priority Claims (2)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
77 02748 |
Feb 1977 |
FRX |
|
77 32584 |
Oct 1977 |
FRX |
|
Parent Case Info
This is a division of application Ser. No. 872,947, filed Jan. 27, 1978 now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (8)
Non-Patent Literature Citations (3)
Entry |
Wolf et al, Jour. Org. Chem., vol. 34, No. 11, Nov. 1969, pp. 3441-3445. |
Chemical Abstracts, vol. 66 (1967), 77863d. |
Daniel Swern, Organic Peroxides, vol. I, (1970), pp. 50-51. |
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
872947 |
Jan 1978 |
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