A METHOD FOR THE PREPARATION OF PHOTOINITIATORS

Abstract: Photoinitiators are produced by introducing a halogen into a mixture of a diarylsulphide and a Lewis acid catalyst (preferably ACl₃) and from 0.2 to 2 parts by weight of inert solvent (preferably dichloromethane) per part of diarylsul­ phide followed by an anion exchange reaction with HX, NaX or KX where X is BF₄, PF₆, SbF₅OH, AsF₆, or SbF₆. The products have the formula III:- in which Ar¹ is a monovalent, and Ar² is a divalent, aromatic radical selected from phenyl, naphthyl, anthryl, thienyl, furanyl and pyrryl whch may be substituted by alkyl, substituted alkyl, alkoxy, cyano, acetamido or acyl groups or halogen atoms.

Description: A METHOD FOR THE PREPARATION OF PHOTO-INITIATORS TECHNICAL FIELD Triarylsulphonium compounds are valuable as photoinitiators particularly for epoxy resin systems. Various methods have been described for their preparation but all have suffered from low yields and complex purification procedures. BACKGROUND ART Thus in US patent 4197174 bis- [ 4-(diphenylsulphonio) phenyl ] sulphide bishexafluorophosphate (formula 1 below) is prepared in very low yield (ca 5%) by chlorinating a solution of diphenylsulphide in dichloromethane in the presence of Aid3. The product is obtained by aqueous extraction followed by a complex procedure of sequential precipitation. EMI1.1 GB Patent 2069486 reveals a method of preparation whereby chlorine is introduced into a mixture of diphenylsulphide and AlCl3 in the absence of any solvent. The product thus prepared has the formula II: EMI2.1 Yields of the final complex sulphonium salts obtained are of the order of 80%. A disadvantage of this method is the fact that the diarylsulphide is the only liquid reactant in the initial condensation reaction effectively also acting as a solvent. As the chlorine gas is bubbled through the reaction mix the viscosity progressively increases to such a point that the chlorine can no longer enter the reaction mix and a significant amount of the Lewis acid remains undissolved. This rapid viscosity increase effectively reduces the yield obtainable from this reaction step. A further disadvantage is the need for thorough purification of the resulting crude product to remove all traces of the strongly odoriferous diarylsulphide. If this reaction is carried out on a large scale the viscosity of the reaction mix is such that a very 1sigh torquf stirrer is required for efficient agitation. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Thus it is an object of this invention to provide a method of preparation of a compound of this type which does not suffer, or at least mitigates, the aforementioned problems. Thus the present invention provides a method for the preparation of a triaylsulphonium salt of the formula III: EMI3.1 wherein X may be BF4, PF6, AsF6, SbF6 or SbF5OH; Arl is a monovalent and Ar2 a divalent aromatic radical each of which may be selected from phenyl, naphthyl, anthryl, thienyl, furanyl and pyrryl, these radicals optionally being substituted with one or more alkyl, substituted alkyl, alkoxy, cyano, nitro, acetamido or acyl groups or halgen atoms; which is characterised in that it comprises forming a triarylsulphonium halide in an initialreaction between a diarylsulphide Arl-S-Arl, a Lewis acid catalyst and a halogenin the presence of from 0.2 to 2 parts by weight of an inert solvent per part of diarylsulphide and at a temperature between 00C and 250C followed by an aqueous phase anion exchange between the triarylsulphonium halide and a compound of the formula NaX,KX or HX, where X is as defined above,and then separation and purification of the resultant sulphonium salt. Preferably the initial reaction mixture containing the triarylsulphonium halide is poured directly into substantially an equal weight of a mixture of ice and water. This has the effect of hydrolysing the Lewis acid complex present. Said initial reaction is preferably accomplished at a temperature of between 100 to 150C. This condensation reaction can be performed at ambient temperature or above but the yield obtained at such temperatures is lower than that obtained if the reaction is carried out in an ice bath within the range 0 to 250C or as mentioned above preferably 10 to 150C. Typical inert solvents which may be used in the present invention include for example dichloromethane, carbon disulphide, nitrobenzene, or nitromethane. The preferred solvent is dichloromethane which is nonflammable, has relatively low toxicity and is easily removable due to its low boiling point. The amount of solvent utilised should be sufficient to provide solubility of the diarysulphide, 0.2 to 2 parts by weight of solvent per part of diarylsulphide is desirable and preferably 0.25 to 1 parts per part. The solvent is inert only to the extent that it does not react significantly with the diarylsulphide or the Lewis acid, the latter, of course, being extremely reactive and thus limiting the selection of "inert" solvents. The Lewis acid catalyst may be selected from those well known for their efficiency in Friedel Craft reactions, such as aluminium chloride or bromide, boron trifluoride or trichloride, ferric chloride, stannic chloride, phosphorus pentafluoride, arsenic pentafluoride or antimony pentafluoride. The catalyst is added with agitation. The amount of catalyst employed may be 0.1 to 5 moles per mole of diarylsulphide and preferably 0.25 to 1 moles per mole. It is preferred that elemental halogen is added in the initial reaction, preferably at such a rate that the reaction temperature does not exceed 150C whilst maintaining agitation. It is preferable to add from 0.2 to 2 moles of elemental halogen per mole of diarylsulphide. After addition of the halogen the reaction mix may be stirred at 10-150C for a further 0.5 to 2 hours. Although the sulphonium chloride, bromide or iodide thus prepared in said initial reaction may be isolated by conventional techniques, it is nevertheless preferable to continue the preparation of the end product with the intermediate product retained in an aqueous phase. To the aqueous reaction mix maintained at a temperature of from 200 to 1000C is added, with agitation, the sodium or potassium salt of fluoroboric acid, hexafluorophosphoric acid, hexafluoroarsenic acid or hexafluoroantimonic acid. The free acids themselves may be employed in this invention but this is not preferred due to their extremely corrosive natures. These salts are added in essentially equimolar proportions with respect to the sulphonium chloride, bromide or iodide, any excess merely increasing the costs of the process. The polyhalogenometal or metalloid sulphonium salt is then recovered by decantation or filtration. The essentially pure product is washed with water and preferably an organic solvent in which the product is insoluble, such as diethylether, isopropyl alcohol or petroleum spirit. The purified product is then dried under vacuum at 40-1000C. In order to illustrate the various aspects of the present invention the following non-limiting examples are detailed. All parts are by weight unless otherwise specified. Example 1 500 parts diphenylsulphide were admixed with 260 parts dichloromethane in a glass reaction vessel cooled in an ice bath. 200 parts ground aluminium chloride were added with stirring, chlorine gas was then rapidly bubbled through the reaction mix for 3 hours during which time the temperature was maintained at 13-150C. After this the weight of the reaction flask and contents had increased by 50 parts. The contents of the flask were then poured onto 1,000 parts of ice. The resultant creamy paste was heated to 400C and 270 parts of potassium hexafluorophosphate were added portion wise with agitation, the whole was then heated on a steam bath to remove the dichloromethane. The solid product was isolated by decantation, washed twice with water and twice with diethyl ether, then dried under vacuum at 400C. The product was identified as 4-thiophenoxytriphenylsulphonium hexafluorophosphate by virtue of its IR, UV and C13NMR spectra. There asobtained 683 parts of this product which represents 98% of theoretical yield based on the diphenylsulphide. The above procedure was repeated in the absence of any solvent. The product thus obtained was a white sticky solid, 435 parts representing 63% of theoretical yield based on diphenylsulphide. Confirmation of the product as 4-thiophenoxytriphenylsulphonium hexafluorophosphate was achieved by IR and UV spectroscopy. This example illustrates the much higher yields obtainable using a small amount of an inert solvent. EXAMPLE 2 35 parts of ground aluminium chloride were added to a solution of 100 parts diphenylsulphide in 66 parts dichloromethane. The reaction was maintained at 150C whilst 43 parts of bromine were added portionwise. After stirring for a further 4 hours the mixture was poured onto 500 parts of ice, the whole was then heated to 500c and 60 parts of potassium hexafluorophosphate were added. The resultant cream coloured semi-solid was washed twice with warm water and isopropyl alcohol and dried under vacuum at 400C. 133 parts of a white solid were obtained being 97 of theoretical yield based on diphenylsulphide; the product was identified as 4- thiophenoxytriphenylsulphonium hexafluorophosphate from its IR,UV and C13 NMR spectra. EXAMPLE 3 An example illustrating the use of the above prepared sulphonium salt as a cationic photoinitiator for epoxy resins is given below. A 3% solution of 4-thiophenoxytriphenylsulphonium hexafluorophosphate in 3,4-epoxy - cyclohexylmethyl - 3,4-cyclohexanecarboxylate (sold under the designation CY 179 by Ciba Geigy) was draw coated onto a steel panel. This was passed through a water cooled, Colordry UV dryer (400 W/in) at 135ft/min resulting in a tack free coating. EXAMPLE 4 100 parts diphenylsulljiiide were ad.-ixed with 20 parts of carbon disulphide in a glass reaction vessel cooled in an ice bath. 40 parts of ground aluminium chloride were added with stirring, chlorine gas was then bubbled through the reaction mix for 7 hours at such a rate that the temperature was maintained at l3-l80C. After this time the weight of the reaction vessel and its content had increased by 15 parts and no undissolved aluminium chloride was present. The contents of the reaction vessel were then poured onto 500 parts of ice with stirring, a further 1000 parts of water were then added and the mixture was heated to 40 C. 60 parts potassium hexafluoropllosphate were added portionwise with stirring and a white precipitate was formed. The aqueous layer was decanted off and the resultant semi solid washed twice with 1000 parts of warm water and filtered. The product was washed once with cold isopropanol and twice with ether and dried under vacuum at 600C. 118 parts of a cream coloured solid were obtained 87% theoretical yield based on diphenylsulphide, the product was identified as 4-thiophenoxytriphenylsulphonium hexafluorophosphate from its IR and W spectra. METHOD A 50 parts ground aluminium chloride were added to a solution of 100 parts diphenylsulphide in 400 parts dichloromethane. The reaction mix was maintained at 13-160C for 5 hours during which time chlorine was sparged into the system. After this addition the weight of the reaction flask and contents had increased by 30 parts. The reaction mixture was poured onto 500 parts of ice with stirring and a further 1000 parts of water were added. The whole was heated to 400C and 60 parts potassium hexafluorophosphate were added portionwise with stirring. The resultant semi solid was washed twice with warm water, once with cold isopropanol and twice with ether, filtered, and dried at 600C under vacuum. 109 parts of a white solid were obtained, this was identified as 4-thiophenoxytriphenylsulphonium hexafluorophosphate by virtue of its IR and UV spectra. Method A illustrates the use of a large excess of solvent and demonstrates that none of the product which would be expected from USP 4197174 (Formula I) was found.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A method for the preparation of a triarylsulphonium salt of the formula III: EMI9.1 wherein X may be BF4, PF6, AsF6, SbF6 or SbF5OH; Ar is a monovalent and Ar2 a divalent aromatic radical each of which may be selected from phenyl, naphthyl, anthryl, thienyl, furanyl and pyrryl, these radicals optionally being substituted with one or more alkyl, substituted alkyl, alkoxy, cyano, nitro, acetamido or acyl groups or halgen atoms; which method is characterised in that it comprises forming a triarylsulphonium halide in an initialreaction between a diarylsulphide Arl-S-Arl, a Lewis acid catalyst and a halogenin the presence of from 0.2 to 2 parts by weight of an inert solvent per part of diarylsulphide and at a temperature between 00C and 250C followed by an aqueous phase anion exchange between the triarylsulphoniurim halide and a compound of the formula NaX,KX or HX, where X is as defined above,and then separation and purification of the resultant sulphonium salt. 2. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the initial reaction mixture containing the triarylsulphonium halide is poured directly into substantially an equal weight of a mixture of ice and water. 3. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the initial reaction is carried out at a temperature between 100C and 150C. 4. A method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3 wherein the inert solvent is dichloromethane, carbon disulphide, nitrobenzene or nitromethane. 5. A method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4 wherein the amount of solvent is 0.25 to 1 parts by weight per part of diarylsulphide. 6. A method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 5 wherein the inert solvent is dichloromethane. 7. A method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 6 wherein the Lewis acid is anhydrous aluminium chloride. 8. A method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 7 wherein the diarylsulphide is diphenylsulphide. 9. A method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 8 wherein the halogen is chlorine, bromine or iodine. 10. A triarylsulphonium salt for incorporation in UV initiated cationically curable formulations when produced by a method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 9. 11. A triarylsulphonium salt photoinitiator for use in epoxy resin containing UV curable formulations when prepared by a method as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 9.

Inventors: ELLWOOD, MICHAEL
Applicants: SERICOL GROUP LIMITED
Application year: 1984
Main classification: C07C149
IPC codes: G03F7, C07F5, C08G59, C08F2, C07C381, C07F9