Process for the preparation of hydroxyamides

Abstract: A method of preparing solid hydroxyalkylamides by reacting carboxylic alkyl esters with alkanolamines at controlled reaction temperatures, removing the alcohol byproduct, controlling the temperature of the reaction mixture to form a slurry, maintaining the slurry and recovering the solid hydroxyalkylamides.

Description: This invention concerns the production, purification and isolation of hydroxyamides. Hydroxyamides are useful as chemical intermediates and chemical crosslinkers. Todate, hydroxyamides have been synthesized by the aminolysis of dimethyl esters by alkanolamines. Isolation and purification of the solid hydroxyamide products is done conventionally either by recrystallization (see for example, J. Coat. Tech. , 50 (643), 49-55(1978); US-A-4,032,460; US-A-4,076,917; US-A-4,493,909; US-A-4,727,111 and Japanese Patent 56-062895) or by prilling/flaking. Recrystallization is typically performed by dissolving the crude hydroxyamide in a solvent, such as methanol/acetone, cooling the solution to grow the crystals, filtering the product away from the mother liquors, and drying the product until it is free of residual solvent. Alternatively, recrystallization may entail adding solvent to melted hydroxyamide, followed by crystal growth, filtration and drying as described above. With recrystallization, a relatively pure product is obtained. However, the product losses due to dissolution in the solvents used and the complexity of removing residual solvent from the product, as well as recovering solvents for re-use, pose significant disadvantages to this approach. With prilling/flaking, the hydroxyamide must be maintained in a fluid state for several hours until the operation is complete. During this time some of the product in the molten state degrades to undesirable by-products. Another problem associated with the hydroxyamides prepared by the known processes is that they are generally soft, sticky, waxy solids, which typically renders the materials unsuitable for use in powder coatings, such use requiring free-flowing powders. The present invention overcomes the problems associated with the known processes for preparing hydroxyamides. Also, the prepared hydroxyamides are useful as crosslinkers in powder coatings based on polyester or acrylate chemistries. In a first aspect, the present invention provides a process for producing hydroxyamides of the formula (I): wherein n is an integer having a value of 1 to 10; n' is 0 or an integer having a value of 1 or 2; A is a bond, a polyvalent organic radical or, when n' is zero, A may be hydrogen or a monovalent organic radical selected from a saturated or unsaturated alkyl, aryl, carboxy lower alkenyl, lower alkoxycarbonyl lower alkenyl; and R¹ is hydrogen, lower alkyl, or hydroxy lower alkyl; comprising reacting a carboxylic alkyl ester with an alkanolamine at a certain reaction temperature; removing the alcohol by-product compound at atmospheric or reduced pressure; controlling the temperature of the crude reaction mixture until the hydroxyamide crystallizes to form a slurry; maintaining the slurry in the reaction mixture by temperature control (for example, 25° to 200°C, preferably 80° to 115°C) for from about 15 minutes to about 12 hours (preferably 1 to 3 hours); and isolating the hydroxyamide. In a second aspect, the present invention provides a process for preparing an hydroxyamide compound of the formula I: wherein n is an integer of 1 to 10; n' is 0 or an integer having a value of 1 or 2; A is a bond, a polyvalent organic radical or when n' is zero, A may be hydrogen or a monovalent organic radical; and R¹ is hydrogen, lower alkyl or hydroxy lower alkyl; comprising reacting a compound of the formula II: wherein A, n and n¹ are as defined above and R is lower alkyl with a compound of the formula III: wherein R¹, R², n and n¹ are as defined above, at a temperature in the range of from ambient up to about 200°C, optionally in the presence of a catalyst; controlling the temperature to cause the product (I) to crystallize to form a slurry; maintaining the slurry by temperature control and agitation for from 0.25 to at least about 12 hours; and isolating the hydroxyamide compound. Preferably, A is a bond, hydrogen, or a monovalent or polyvalent organic radical selected from a saturated or unsaturated alkyl, aryl, carboxy lower alkenyl or lower alkoxycarbonyl lower alkenyl; R¹ is hydrogen, lower alkyl, or hydroxy lower alkyl; n is an integer having a value of 1 or 2; and n' is 0 or an integer having a value of 1 or 2. Preferably, the temperature control of the slurry is maintained at from about 25° to about 200°C. Preferably, the temperature control of the slurry is maintained at from about 80° to about 115°C. Preferably, the slurry is maintained for from about 1 to about 3 hours. Preferably, the hydroxyamide compound is solidified by flaking, prilling, spray drying or casting. Preferably, A is (C₂-C₈)alkylene, R¹ is hydroxy lower alkyl and n and n' are 1. The present invention provides a process for producing a high purity solid hydroxyamide by first forming a slurry of the solid hydroxyamide in a liquid melt mixture of the hydroxyamide, amine precursors and other minor process impurities, followed by flaking, prilling, casting, spray drying or other means of solidification to isolate the high purity solid hydroxyamide. In another aspect, the present invention is used to produce a solid hydroxyamide having the consistency of a free-flowing powder suitable for direct use as a crosslinker in powder coating formulations. The present invention may be practised by cooling the crude mixture, resulting from the base catalyzed aminolysis of a diester and an alkanolamine, until a thick slurry develops. The temperature of the mixture is then varied to maintain slurry characteristics during the subsequent steps used for solidification (casting, prilling, flaking, and the like). Solid hydroxyamides produced by the present invention are superior to products produced by prior art methods of recrystallization in that no solvents are involved in the final stages, thus eliminating the additional steps of solvent removal/recovery, and that the physical form characteristics (e.g. free-flowing powder) of the hydroxyamides equal or exceed that obtained from recrystallization. Furthermore, in contrast to prior art recrystallization methods (which "separate" impurities from the desired product), the present invention uses the slurry environment (solid hydroxyamide in the presence of precursors and by-products) to "convert" some of the by-product impurities to the desired hydroxyamide product. Thus, the slurry conditions drive the chemical reaction towards completion. The present invention may be used to produce hydroxyamides that are solid at room temperature, i.e., those having melting points above about 25°C. In comparison to the prior art methods, which also employ casting, prilling, or flaking, use of the present invention results in an hydroxyamide product of much higher overall quality (i.e. fewer impurities are present) because the process of the invention does not subject the hydroxyamides to long hold times at elevated temperatures in the molten state (non-slurry conditions) during which times undesirable by-products form. Also, the operations of filtration and drying, usually associated with recrystallization routes, are eliminated by use of the present invention. In particular, the hydroxyamides which may be produced by the process of the invention include those represented by formula I ( supra ) but wherein A is a bond, a polyvalent organic radical or, when n' is zero, A may be hydrogen or a monovalent organic radical, wherein the organic radical is derived from a saturated or unsaturated alkyl radical containing from 1-60 carbon atoms, such as methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl, pentyl, hexyl, heptyl, octyl, nonyl, decyl, eicosyl, triacontyl, tetracontyl, pentacontyl, hexylcontyl and the like; aryl, for example, mono- and dinuclear aryl such as phenyl, naphthyl and the like; or an unsaturated radical containing one or more ethylenic groups [ C=C ] such as ethenyl, 1-methylethenyl, 3-butenyl-1,3-diyl, 2-propenyl-1,2-diyl, carboxy lower alkenyl, such as 3-carboxy-2-propenyl and the like, lower alkoxy carbonyl lower alkenyl such as 3-methoxycarbonyl-2-propenyl and the like; or tri-lower alkyleneamino such as trimethyleneamino, triethyleneamino and the like; R¹ is hydrogen, lower alkyl of from 1-5 carbon atoms such as methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, n-butyl, sec-butyl, tert-butyl, pentyl and the like or hydroxy lower alkyl of from 1-5 carbon atoms such as hydroxyethyl, 3-hydroxypropyl, 2-hydroxypropyl, 4-hydroxybutyl, 3-hydroxybutyl, 2-hydroxy-2-methylpropyl, 5-hydroxypentyl, 4-hydroxypentyl, 3-hydroxypentyl, 2-hydroxypentyl and the isomers of pentyl; n is an integer having a value of 1 to 10, preferably 1 or 2, and n' is 0 or an integer having a value of 1 or 2 or, when n' is 0, a polymer or copolymer (i.e., n has a value greater than 1 preferably 2-10) formed from the β-hydroxy-alkylamide when A is an unsaturated radical. Examples of preferred compounds include those wherein A is an alkylene group, preferably (C₂-C₈)alkylene. Examples of the most preferred compounds fail within the formula Ib: wherein m is 0-10, preferably 2-8. Specific examples falling within Formula Ib are bis[N,N-di(β-hydroxyethyl)]adipamide and bis[N,N-di(β-hydroxyethyl)]azelamide. The β-hydroxyalkylamides (formula I, supra) may be prepared by the following reaction scheme I: wherein A, R¹, n and n' are as defined above and R² is lower alkyl of from 1-5 carbon atoms such as methyl, ethyl, propyl, n-butyl tert -butyl, pentyl and the like. The above scheme represents the aminolysis of an ester of formula II with an amine of formula III at a temperature in the range of from about ambient up to about 200°C. The aminolysis reaction is typically carried out using a molar ratio of amine to ester of 2.0/1, preferably 1.95-2.05/1, and most preferably 1.98-2.02/1. In addition, the water content of the aminolysis reactants is typically controlled to less than 0.5% moisture and preferably to less than 0.1% moisture in order to maintain the activity of any basic catalyst that may be used and to minimize unwanted hydrolysis of ester reactants. Control of reactant mole ratio and moisture level is typically practised in aminolysis reactions in order to maximize product yield and purity. Optionally, a basic catalyst may be employed such as, for example, potassium methoxide or butoxide, quaternary ammonium alkoxides (such as tetramethylammonium methoxide and the like), or alkali metal or quaternary ammonium hydroxides and, preferably, in an amount in the range of from 0.1 to 1.0 wt.% based on the weight of the ester. The reaction is preferably conducted at elevated temperatures. The esters of formula II can be either known compounds or prepared by esterifying the corresponding acid by standard esterifying procedures well-known to those skilled in the art. Among the preferred acids and mixtures thereof which can be employed are oxalic, malonic, succinic, glutaric, adipic, pimelic, suberic, azelaic, sebacic, 1,4-cyclohexane dicarboxylic and the like and alkyl derivatives thereof. Also, there may be employed dimer and trimer acids and mixtures thereof prepared by the polymerization of C₁₈ fatty acids such as a dimer acid with 2 carboxy groups, 36 carbon atoms and an approximate molecular weight of 565 of a trimer acid with 3 carboxy groups, 54 carbon atoms and an approximate molecular weight of 850. Some representative examples of the amines which can be employed include 2-aminoethanol; 2-methylaminoethanol; and 2-n-butylaminoethanol. The crude reaction mixture from the aminolysis (i.e. reaction of II with III) is preferably maintained at a temperature of 25-200°C, preferably 80°-115°C, until a thick slurry is formed. By manipulating the temperature, the mixture is then maintained in slurry form during subsequent isolation steps (flaking, spray drying, casting, and the like). It is important that the maximum "thickness" of the slurry be maintained during the final isolation steps, and it is important to maintain good agitation of the slurry during these steps. It has been found that maximizing slurry "thickness" (as measured by bulk viscosity of the fluid mixture) unexpectedly maximizes the purity of the final product hydroxyamide. Control of in-process viscosity may be attained by continuous monitoring via on-line viscometer instrumentation. In large-scale reactors (1136 litres (300-gallons) and larger) relative viscosity changes have been found to be most useful; typical changes in bulk viscosity upon formation of a slurry range from 2 to 200 times the bulk viscosity of the reaction mixture prior to formation of the slurry. When laboratory-scale equipment (e.g., 1-liter reactor) is used, viscosities of 300-2,500 cps (Brookfield Viscometer, 100 rpm, 34 sec⁻¹) are suitable for producing high purity hydroxyamides, with 600-2,000 cps being a preferred viscosity range. In-process pressure is not critical to the use of the invention and so vacuum or elevated pressures may be used to satisfy individual process requirements. However, it is preferable to use a slight vacuum (50-300 mm Hg) to remove residual methanol (or other alcohol by-products) from the aminolysis reaction. Hold times may vary widely depending on the vacuum conditions and temperatures employed for the aminolysis; thereafter the temperature of the crude liquid reaction mixture is controlled in such a way to form the thick slurry. The thick slurry condition is maintained with good agitation and temperature control from about 15 minutes up to at least about 12 hours, preferably 1-3 hours, in order to achieve maximum purity of the hydroxyamide. The aminolysis may also be carried out in a solvent, in which case the solvent should be removed prior to formation of the slurry. Morever, solvent may enable the aminolysis to be conducted at lower temperatures, resulting in less by-product formation in some cases. Practice of the process of the invention may be by batch, continuous or semi-continuous modes. Scheme II, represented below, presents an outline of the postulated chemistry of the process steps involved in the use of the invention, in which the reaction of dimethyladipate (DMAd) and diethanolamine (DEA) is used for illustrative purposes. In Scheme II ( infra ), it is believed that the initial base-catalyzed (KOH, or other strong bases) transesterification (Equation IV) rapidly forms the theoretical diester intermediate (DE) along with methanol. DE is then believed to convert to the desired hydroxyamide (HAm) product (Equation V) or the amide-ester dimer, AED (Equation VI). The latter (in the presence of DEA) subsequently establishes an equilibrium with HAm (Equation VII). The formation of AED is a primary source of impurity in final product HAm and also the main cause of low HAm yield. During the aminolysis reaction, all of the Scheme II components are present simultaneouly in solution. As the methanol is stripped off, the HAm may begin to "crystallize" from the mixture, i.e., to form a solid in liquid (slurry), due to its lesser solubility in the reaction medium in the absence of methanol. As additional HAm crystallizes from the molten slurry mixture, the equilibrium is shifted toward HAm at the expense of DEA, DE, and AED, all of which are undesirable components in the HAm product. The crystallization of HAm is relatively slow, therefore, extended hold times tend to produce purer product and more viscous slurries. The viscosities of the slurries should be maintained as high as possible to maximize the purity and yield of the HAm, but the viscosities should not be so high that the reaction mixture completely solidifies ("sets up"), e.g., above 2,500 cps absolute viscosity at 80°C in small-scale laboratory reactors. The present invention will now be described by way of examples. EXAMPLE 1 A mixture of diethanolamine (DEA), 131 g, and potassium hydroxide (KOH), 0.5 g, is placed in a 500-ml glass reactor and blanketed with nitrogen. This mixture is heated to 100°C under 205 mm Hg vacuum with stirring, at which point dimethyladipate (DMAd) is introduced into the mixture dropwise. The DMAd (106 g) is added over a 4 hour period during which period, methanol is simultaneously distilled from the reaction mixture. Within one hour after completion of the DMAd addition, the reaction mixture develops the appearance of a thick, white slurry. The slurry is maintained at 100-103°C for an additional 1.75 hours. The HAm product is isolated by pouring the slurry into an aluminum dish at 20-25°C. EXAMPLE 2 (Comparative) In a manner similar to Example 1 , the aminolysis is repeated and the reactor temperature is maintained at 93°C such that the reaction mixture maintains its homogeneous character without forming a slurry after the DMAd addition. The reaction solution is then poured into an aluminum dish at 20-25°C to isolate the HAm product. Analytical data on the HAm products obtained by the processes of Example 1 (present invention) and Example 2 (prior art/comparative) are presented in Table I. Example 1 Present Invention Example 2 Comparative Physical Appearance: free-flowing, white chalky solid sticky, white solid % Residual DEA: 5.3 9.0 M.P. (°C): 124 117 EXAMPLE 3 In a manner similar to Example 1, a mixture of diethanolamine (DEA), 129 g, and potassium t-butoxide, 2.4 g, is placed in a 500-ml glass reactor and blanketed with nitrogen. After DMAd (106 g) is added and methanol distilled off, the reaction temperature is then increased to 108-110°C and held for 30 minutes to slowly convert the HAm to its molten state. The temperature is then lowered to 87°C over a period of 25 minutes at which point a thick slurry state is obtained again. Samples are withdrawn from the reactor at each stage of this process, allowed to cool and solidify to produce product HAm. Experimental conditions and analytical data obtained from on-line sampling are presented in Table 2. Time (min) Temp (°C) Operation/Comments % HAm % DEA AED/HAm 0 84 Start DMAd addition 30 79 Reaction mixture cloudy 50 84 Formation of slurry, temp increased 60 108 DMAd addition complete 75 110 Thick slurry (A) 90.4 1.7 0.043 90 109 Thick slurry (B) 90.8 1.6 0.044 120 109 Thinner slurry (C) 90.0 1.9 0.056 150 108 Cloudy, no slurry (D) 84.8 2.4 0.064 180 108 Cloudy, no slurry (E), temp lowered 83.1 3.1 0.085 205 87 Slurry (F) 90.0 1.6 0.042 (HAm and AED/HAm ratios are determined by HPLC analyses.) The data indicate that "slurry" conditions (samples A, B, C, and F) are conducive to high purity product (90+% HAm, < 2% DEA, lower AED/HAm ratio), whereas "molten" conditions (samples D and E), representing the comparative prior art, are conducive to low purity product (< 85% HAm, > 2% DEA, higher AED/HAm ratio).

Claims: A process for producing hydroxyamides of the formula (I): wherein n is an integer having a value of 1 to 10; n' is 0 or an integer having a value of 1 or 2; A is a bond, a polyvalent organic radical or, when n' is zero, A may be hydrogen or a monovalent organic radical selected from a saturated or unsaturated alkyl, aryl, carboxy lower alkenyl, lower alkoxycarbonyl lower alkenyl; and R¹ is hydrogen, lower alkyl, or hydroxy lower alkyl; comprising reacting a carboxylic alkyl ester with an alkanolamine at a certain reaction temperature; removing the alcohol by-product compound at atmospheric or reduced pressure; controlling the temperature of the crude reaction mixture until the hydroxyamide crystallizes to form a slurry; maintaining the slurry in the reaction mixture by temperature control (for example at from about 25° to about 200°C, preferably about 80° to about 115°C) for from about 15 minutes to about 12 hours (preferably about 1 to about 3 hours); and isolating the hydroxyamide. A process for preparing an hydroxyamide compound of the formula I: wherein n is an integer of 1 to 10; n' is 0 or an integer having a value of 1 or 2; A is a bond, a polyvalent organic radical or when n' is zero, A may be hydrogen or a monovalent organic radical; and R¹ is hydrogen, lower alkyl or hydroxy lower alkyl; comprising reacting a compound of the formula II: wherein A, n and n¹ are as defined above and R is lower alkyl with a compound of the formula III: wherein R¹, R², n and n¹ are as defined above, at a temperature in the range of from ambient up to about 200°C, optionally in the presence of a catalyst; controlling the temperature to cause the product (I) to crystallize to form a slurry; maintaining the slurry by temperature control and agitation for from 0.25 to at least about 12 hours; and isolating of the hydroxyamide compound. The process of claim 1 or claim 2 wherein A is a bond, hydrogen, or a monovalent or polyvalent organic radical selected from a saturated or unsaturated alkyl, aryl, carboxy lower alkenyl or lower alkoxycarbonyl lower alkenyl; R¹ is hydrogen, lower alkyl, or hydroxy lower alkyl; n is an integer having a value of 1 or 2; and n' is 0 or an integer having a value of 1 or 2. The process of any one of the preceding claims wherein the temperature control of the slurry is maintained at from about 25° to about 200°C. The process of claim 4 wherein the temperature control of the slurry is maintained at from about 80° to about 115°C. The process of any one of the preceding claims wherein the slurry is maintained for from about 1 to about 3 hours. The process of any one of the preceding claims wherein the hydroxyamide compound is solidified by flaking, prilling, spray drying, or casting. The process of any one of the preceding claims wherein A is (C₂-C₈)alkylene; R¹ is hydroxy lower alkyl and n and n' are 1.

Inventors: SCHLAEFER FRANCIS WILLIAM, SCHLAEFER, FRANCIS WILLIAM
Applicants: ROHM & HAAS, ROHM AND HAAS COMPANY
Application year: 1991
Main classification: C07C231
IPC codes: C07C233, C07C231