Chlorination of aromatic compounds and catalystst therefor

Abstract: A process for the chlorination of an aromatic compound of the following formula (A) : wherein R A is H or C 1 to C 12 alkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, alkaryl, aralkyl or carboxyalkyl, the or each R B is selected from H, C 1 -C 4 alkyl (especially methyl), C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl or polyhaloalkyl, e.g. C 1 -C 4 perfluoroalkyl, C 1 -C 4 alkoxy, C 5 -C 12 aryl (e.g. phenyl), alkaryl or aralkyl, or halogen, and n is an integer which is 0, 1 or 2, and the or each R B , if present, may independently be attached at the ortho or the meta position (preferably at the meta position), which process comprises reacting (preferably in heterogeneous liquid/solid phase below 35°C) the aromatic compound (which is preferably phenol) with a chlorinating agent (preferably sulphuryl chloride) in the presence of a sulphur-containing catalyst, optionally also in the presence of a Lewis acid co-catalyst, characterised in that the sulphur-containing catalyst is an organic compound according to the following formula (I) or formula (II) : in which: PS represents a polymeric backbone preferably selected from polystyrene or a polysiloxane, e.g. a polyalkylsiloxane or a polyalkylarylsiloxane; x is an integer which is 0 or from 1 to 12; R 1 , R 2 , R 3 and R 4 are each independently selected from the group consisting of: optionally substituted straight or branched chain alkyl or alkanediyl having from 1 to 20 (preferably 1 to 10) carbon atoms, optionally substituted straight or branched chain alkaryl or aralkyl having from 5 to 20 carbon atoms, and optionally substituted aryl having from 5 to 20 carbon atoms; X 1 and X 2 are each independently selected from the group consisting of halogen (preferably Cl, Br or I), thiol, dialkylsulphonium halide and R 5 , where R 5 is selected from the group consisting of: optionally substituted straight or branched chain alkyl or alkanediyl having from 1 to 20 (preferably 1 to 10) carbon atoms, optionally substituted straight or branched chain alkaryl or arallkyl having from 5 to 20 carbon atoms, and optionally substituted aryl having from 5 to 20 carbon atoms; y is a number (which may be integral or non-integral) greater than zero, preferably up to about 10000, more preferably in the range from about 1 to about 1000, particularly from about 1 to about 500 and especially from about 2 to about 100; wherein in the above definitions of R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 and R 5 the optional substituents may be independently selected from the following: halogen (e.g. F, Cl), hydroxy, amino, cyano, nitro, C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl e.g. C 1 -C 4 perfluoroalkyl, C 1 -C 4 alkoxy, C 1 -C 4 alkoxycarbonyl.

Description: The present invention relates to the chlorination of aromatic compounds, particularly phenols, using certain sulphur-containing organic polymer compounds as catalysts. The invention also relates to such sulphur-containing organic polymer compounds per se and to processes for preparing them. As to sulphur-containing organic polymer compounds per se, US-A-3928293 discloses solid particulate insoluble cross-linked thiohydrocarbon polymers which form a complex with boron trihydride, while US-A-5594090 discloses sulphur-containing polymer resins useful as optical materials having a high refractive index and also prepolymers from which the polymer resins are produced. These documents do not refer to the use of such polymers as catalysts in processes for chlorination of aromatic compounds. As to such processes, US-A-4564714 discloses a process for the preparation of 2, 4, 5-trichlorphenol by selectively chlorinating 2,5-dichlorophenol under acidic conditions using specific non-polymeric, sulphur-containing catalysts. The regioselective mono-chlorination of phenols with sulphuryl chloride has been known since 1866, when DuBois demonstrated the treatment of molten phenol with an equimolar amount of sulphuryl chloride [Z.F.Chem. 705 (1866)]. Modern analytical techniques have shown that the reaction is not as selective as was thought by DuBois, with p-chlorophenol actually being the predominantly favoured product. More recently, the catalysis of this reaction by a combination of particular divalent sulphur compounds and metal halides has been disclosed in published US Patent No. 3920757 (Watson). One of the most preferred catalysts in this document is diphenyl sulphide, in combination with AlCl 3 , and this catalyst has been applied to a number of further chlorination reactions by sulphuryl chloride, giving a majority of para-mono-chlorinated product over the corresponding ortho-mono-chlorinated product. This known catalyst system however has several disadvantages, particularly when intended for use on an industrial scale. For instance, product yields are not as great as may often be desired, coupled with the fact that only limited para:ortho chlorinated product ratios have hitherto been obtainable. (The para-mono-chlorinated products are generally the more useful industrially and are therefore preferred.) Also, the undesirable isomers and polychlorinated products hinder purification and can be costly to dispose of. Another problem is that the known catalysts are difficult to separate from the reaction products mixture. Furthermore, the presence of AlCl 3 as a co-catalyst may be disadvantageous in that it hydrolyses on contact with water to produce acidic products which promote corrosion of metal reaction vessels and equipment. Many of these known sulphur-containing compounds also have a strong characteristic sulphurous odour, which necessitates more careful and expensive handling and equipment if health and safety hazards are to be avoided and worker-friendliness is to be optimised. Also, these known sulphur-containing catalysts are generally not re-usable, which may lead to problems of safe and environmentally friendly disposal as well as of course being detrimental to the economics of the overall process. The present invention aims to ameliorate at least some of the above disadvantages of the prior art by providing new sulphur-containing organic polymer (or resin) compounds as catalysts, which not only give good product yields and high para-chlorinated product:ortho-chlorinated product (para:ortho) ratios, but may also be substantially odourless and may be easily recovered by filtration, hence leading to improved economics of the process when applied industrially. In a first aspect the present invention provides a process for the chlorination of an aromatic compound of the following formula (A): wherein R A is H or C 1 to C 12 alkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, alkaryl, aralkyl or carboxyalkyl, the or each R B is selected from C 1 -C 4 alkyl (especially methyl) , C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl or polyhaloalkyl, e.g. C 1 -C 4 perfluoroalkyl, C 1 -C 4 alkoxy, C 5 -C 12 aryl (e.g. phenyl), alkaryl or aralkyl, or halogen, and n is an integer which is 0, 1 or 2, and the or each R B , if present, may independently be attached at the ortho or the meta position, preferably at the meta position, the said process comprising reacting the aromatic compound with a chlorinating agent in the presence of a sulphur-containing catalyst, optionally also in the presence of a Lewis acid co-catalyst of the formula MX m , where: M is a metal or metalloid such as B, Al, Ga, In, Tl, Ge, Sn, Cd, Ni, Fe, Zn, Ti, Hg, La; X is an electronegative group such as F, Cl, Br, I, C 1 -C 4 alkoxide, aryloxide e.g. phenoxide, carboxylate e.g. acetate, arenecarboxylate e.g. benzoate, substituted carboxylate e.g. trifluoroacetate, C 1 -C 4 alkanesulphonate, arenesulphonate or substituted sulphonate e.g. trifluoromethanesulphonate; and m is an integer which is preferably 1, 2, 3 or 4; characterised in that the sulphur-containing catalyst is an organic compound according to the following formula (I) or formula (II) : in which: PS represents a polymeric backbone preferably selected from polystyrene or a polysiloxane, e.g. a polyalkylsiloxane or a polyalkylarylsiloxane; x is an integer which is 0 or from 1 to 12; R 1 , R 2 , R 3 and R 4 are each independently selected from the group consisting of: optionally substituted straight or branched chain alkyl or alkanediyl having from 1 to 20 (preferably 1 to 10) carbon atoms, and optionally substituted straight or branched chain alkaryl or aralkyl having from 5 to 20 carbon atoms; X 1 and X 2 are each independently selected from the group consisting of halogen (preferably Cl, Br or I), thiol, dialkylsulphonium halide and R 5 , where R 5 is selected from the group consisting of: optionally substituted straight or branched chain alkyl or alkanediyl having from 1 to 20 (preferably 1 to 10) carbon atoms, and optionally substituted straight or branched chain alkaryl or arallkyl having from 5 to 20 carbon atoms; y is a number (which may be integral or non-integral) greater than zero, preferably up to about 10000, more preferably in the range from about 1 to about 1000, particularly from about 1 to about 500 and especially from about 2 to about 100; wherein in the above definitions of R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 and R 5 the optional substituents may be independently selected from the following: halogen (e.g. F, Cl), hydroxy, amino, cyano, nitro, C 1-4 alkyl, C 1-4 haloalkyl e.g. C 1-4 prefluoroalkyl, C 1-4 alkoxy and (C 1-4 alkoxy)carbonyl. The aromatic compound of the formula (A) may be phenol or m-cresol. In a second aspect, the present invention provides a sulphur-containing polymer compound according to the above formula (I) or according to the formula (IIa) within the formula (II), especially for use as a catalyst in the chlorination of an aromatic compound of the above formula (A) by a chlorinating agent, e.g. sulphuryl chloride. In accordance with this second aspect, in a compound of the above formula (A), each of R A , and R B and n is as defined above. Likewise, in a compound of the above formula (I), each of PS, R 1 and R 2 and x is as defined above. However, the compound of the formula (IIa) is a compound within the above formula (II) wherein each of R 3 , R 4 and y is any one of the groups defined above, but each of X 1 and X 2 independently is selected specifically from halogen and dialkylsulphonium halide. In a third aspect, the present invention provides a first process for the preparation of a sulphur-containing polymer compound of formula I according to the second aspect of the invention, this first process comprising reacting a compound of the formula in which PS and x are as defined above and Met is an electropositive metal preferably selected from Li, Na, K, Mg or Zn, with a disulphide compound of the formula and then a compound of formula L-R 2 in which R 1 and R 2 are as defined above and L is a leaving group preferably selected from the group consisting of halide (e.g. Cl - , Br - ), carboxylate and sulphonate. In a fourth aspect the present invention provides a second process for the preparation of a sulphur-containing polymer compound of formula I according to the second aspect of the invention, this second process comprising reacting a compound of the formula in which PS and x are as defined above and L is a leaving group preferably selected from the group consisting of halide (e.g. Cl - , Br - ), carboxylate and sulphonate, with a sulphur-containing nucleophile of the formula R 2 -S-R 1 -S-Met in which R 1 , R 2 and Met are as defined above. In a fifth aspect, the present invention provides a process for the preparation of a sulphur-containing polymer compound of formula IIa according to the second aspect of the invention, the process comprising reacting together a compound of the formula MetS-R 4 -SMet in which R 4 and Met are as defined above and a compound of the formula X 1 -R 3 -X 2 in which X 1 , and X 2 are each independently selected from halogen and dialkylsulphonium and R 3 is as defined above. Preferred embodiments and features of the synthetic processes of the above third, fourth and fifth aspects of the invention are described in detail hereinbelow. In a sixth aspect, the present invention provides the use of a sulphur-containing polymer compound of the second aspect of the invention as a catalyst in the chlorination of an aromatic compound of formula (A) above by a chlorinating agent, e.g. sulphuryl chloride. The above primary aspects of the invention, and preferred features and embodiments thereof, will now be described in further detail. The chlorinating agent and reaction Conditions of the chlorination process In the process according to the first aspect of the invention the chlorinating agent is suitably sulphuryl chloride (SO 2 Cl 2 ). Other known chlorinating agents however may be suitable, e.g. chlorine gas. The process using sulphuryl chloride with the sulphur-containing polymer or resin catalyst, and with the optional presence of the Lewis acid co-catalyst, is preferably carried out in heterogeneous liquid/solid phase, without the presence of a solvent. However, a solvent may be used if desired or necessary. Suitable solvents include alkanes such as n-hexane, THF, diethyl ether, halogenated hydrocarbons such as perchloro-ethylene or carbon tetrachloride, chloroform or dichloromethane, petrol ether, alcohols such as ethanol or methanol, water, pyridine, dimethylformamide, dimethylsulphoxide or mixtures of any of these. If a solvent is used, the temperature at which the reaction is carried out is generally lower than when there is no solvent present e.g. if phenol is the aromatic compound to be chlorinated, then in the absence of solvent the reaction mixture may solidify at a temperature less than 35°C, which sets a practical lower limit on the possible temperature for the reaction. For maximum selectivity, it is preferable that the temperature used is as low as possible, e.g. even below 35°C, more preferably below about 20 or 25°C, even possibly down to about 0°C, but the reaction may however still work, in certain embodiments, at temperatures of 85°C or more. Often the reaction will be carried out approximately at or near room temperature, e.g. in the region of about 15 to about 30°C, in order to minimise the external heating or cooling that is required. The amount of sulphur-containing polymer/resin catalyst present in the reaction mixture may vary from about 0.01g to about 5g for each 100mmol of the aromatic compound present in the reaction mixture. More preferably the amount of catalyst present is from about 0.1g to about 2.0g for each 100mmol of the aromatic compound, and within this preferred range lower amounts are more preferred. The amount of sulphuryl chloride (SO 2 Cl 2 ) (or other chlorinating agent) present in the reaction mixture may also vary, e.g. depending on the amount of aromatic compound to be reacted or whether solvent is used. Preferably the SO 2 Cl 2 is provided in small excess, with respect to the amount of the aromatic compound, e.g. up to about 100 mol% excess. If desired or necessary, it may be possible for the SO 2 Cl 2 to be present in molar deficit, e.g. up to about 20mol% deficit. The most preferred amount of SO 2 Cl 2 present in the reaction mixture is approximately at a 2 to 20mol% excess over the amount of aromatic compound. The chlorination reaction may be carried out by the slow addition of the SO 2 Cl 2 to a reaction mixture consisting of or containing the aromatic compound, the polymer catalyst, the Lewis acid co-catalyst (if present), and the solvent (if present). Following the addition a period of stirring is generally used to ensure that the reaction is substantially complete, whilst minimising cost. The optional presence of the above defined Lewis acid co-catalyst in the reaction mixture may further increase the para:ortho product ratio and also the yield of the mono-chlorinated product. However, in certain industrial processes the presence of such a Lewis acid may cause a problem as regards corrosion of equipment hardware and in its separation from effluent streams, so in certain practical embodiments of the process of the invention the use of a Lewis acid co-catalyst may be less desirable. A metal halide such as AlCl 3 is often the most selective and thus preferable Lewis acid when used, although others may perform reasonably well. Both FeCl 3 and ZnCl 2 for instance have fewer practical and environmental disadvantages than AlCl 3 for large scale use. When used the amount of Lewis acid in the reaction mixture (in relation to the amount of the aromatic compound) may vary between approximately 0.1 and 15 mol%, with the preferred amount being about at a 1 to 40 mol% excess over the amount of resin catalyst used. The scale of the chlorination process may vary, one advantage of the invention being that having a larger scale process may not deleteriously affect the para:ortho product ratio or the overall yield of the desired product from the reaction. The Sulphur-containing Resin Catalysts The sulphur-containing resin catalysts of general formulae I or II above may be synthesized by the respective processes defined generally hereinabove as the third, fourth and fifth aspects of the invention. In preferred embodiments, resin catalysts of general formula (I) may be synthesised by either (A) lithiating a halogenated polystyrene or polysiloxane resin, reacting the product with a cyclic disulphide and then an electrophile, or (B) first opening up a cyclic disulphide with an organolithium reagent and then reacting this product with a halogenated polystyrene or polysiloxane resin. These two methods can be represented by the following equations: in which X A and X B are each independently selected from Cl, Br, or I. Such halogenated polystyrene or polysiloxane resins may be commercially available, for example as bromopolystyrene (BrPS) and Merrifield Resin (MR), or alternatively may be synthesized by methods well known in the art and readily available to the skilled person. The Merrifield Resin is of the formula: The cyclic disulphides used in the above two methods may be readily synthesised by oxidative cyclisation of the readily available dithiols according to well known literature procedures, e.g. using as reagents iodine and triethylamine in trichloromethane, which reaction can be represented by the following equation: In sulphur-containing polymers of general formula (I) R 1 and R 2 are preferably each independently selected from optionally substituted straight or branched chain alkyl or alkanediyl having from 1 to 10 carbon atoms. Preferably both groups R 1 and R 2 are unsubstituted and/or unbranched. It is further preferred that R 1 and R 2 each independently have from 4 to 10 carbon atoms, most preferably from 4 to 6 carbon atoms. In preferred embodiments, resin catalysts of general formula (II) above may be synthesised from the functionalised monomers HS-R 4 -SH and X 1 -R 3 -X 2 . This synthesis may for example be carried out by lithiating the dithiol with an organo-lithium reagent, then reacting the product with the dihalo compound, e.g. at room temperature in a suitable solvent such as e.g. THF, to yield the overall polymeric compound with general formula (II). If X 1 and/or X 2 is the group R 5 in formula (II), then a further reactive step is preferably carried out, namely reacting the intermediate product with a halo-compound, Hal-R 5 , e.g. at room temperature. In polymer compounds of general formula (II) both of X 1 and X 2 are preferably Br. More preferably, R 3 , R 4 and R 5 (if present) are each independently unbranched and/or unsubstituted alkyl groups having from 1 to 10 carbon atoms. Most preferred is when R 3 , R 4 and R 5 (if present) are each independently a C 6 -C 8 alkyl group. EXAMPLES Preferred features and embodiments of the present invention in its various aspects will now be illustrated in detail by way of the following examples. Comparative Examples 1 to 3 In the following Comparative Examples 1 to 3, the chlorination reaction: is carried out as follows. A clean and dry 250ml two necked, round bottom flask is flushed with N 2 for a few seconds, to prevent oxidation of meta-cresol and hydrolysis of AlCl 3 , if present. 100mmol (10.81g) of meta-cresol is then placed in the flask along with 2.69mmol of the catalyst used, 3.75mmol AlCl 3 if required and a magnetic follower. The flask is fitted with a stopper and a pressure equalising dropping funnel. 110mmol (8.8ml) of freshly distilled sulphuryl chloride (see below) is placed in the dropping funnel and the funnel fitted with a CaCl 2 drying tube. The reaction mixture is stirred while the SO 2 Cl 2 is added at a rate of approximately one drop every two seconds. The addition rate is checked from time to time and the addition finished within two hours. Stirring is then maintained for another 2 hours. The reaction is quenched with 30ml of distilled water and stirred for 30 minutes to hydrolyse residual SO 2 Cl 2 . The two phases are transferred into a separating funnel and the flask rinsed with distilled water and diethyl ether. The mixture is extracted twice with 30ml of diethyl ether and the combined ether layers are washed with 10ml of distilled water. The organic phase is then dried over MgSO 4 and filtered. The organic phase is evaporated under vacuum (18mbar) at 50°C. The product is then subjected to elemental analysis and analysed by gas chromatography, as described further below. The freshly distilled sulphuryl chloride mentioned above is prepared by placing sulphuryl chloride in a double-necked, round-bottom flask with a few anti-bumping granules. The flask is set up for distillation and fitted with a nitrogen inlet and a water cooled condenser leading to a three way receiver and a nitrogen outlet. The gas flows out through a scrubber. The system is flushed with nitrogen and then the gas flow is halted. The flask is heated and the fraction boiling at 67-69°C is collected as sulphuryl chloride. This colourless liquid is stored under nitrogen. In order to analyse the purified reaction products, a precisely known amount of the stored sample (approximately 500mg) and 100mg tetradecane as internal standard are weighed into a flask and diluted with 25ml dichloromethane. 1µl of the resulting solution is injected onto a gas chromatograph for analysis. The gas chromatography system used involves a Philips PU 4400 instrument with a PU 4920 data station providing control, data storage and manipulation for the gas chromatograph. The conditions set for analysis are: column 15m carbowax megabore, ID 0.54mm, 1.2µm film thickness carrier gas 5ml/min helium make up gas 25ml.min nitrogen injector temperature 300°C detector temperature 300°C (F.I.D.) injection technique splitless initial time 2 minutes column start temperature 35°C ramp rate 20°C/min upper temperature 240°C The trace produced by the gas chromatograph is converted into mol% of product present in the purified reaction products using standard calculations as are well known and commonly applied in the art. Synthesis Example 1 This example illustrates the synthesis of two sulphur-containing resin compounds of general formula (I) above (Compounds 41 and 42). Compound 41 : Bromopolystyrene (4mmol Br per gram resin, 200-400 mesh) is first washed with THF (3 x 25ml), diethyl ether (3 x 25ml), THF/H 2 O (2/1, 3 x 25ml), benzene (3 x 25ml), methanol (3 x 25ml) and then dried at 65°C under reduced pressure (2mbar). 0.5g, which contains approximately 2mmol of bromine, is placed in a dry round bottom flask which is then fitted with a septum and flushed with N 2 . Dry benzene (10ml) is added via a dry syringe. The mixture is stirred for 30 minutes and then heated to 65°C. Butyllithium (1.7ml, 12mmol, 7M) is added via a dry syringe, and the mixture is stirred for another 120 minutes. The resin is washed with dry benzene (2 x 10ml). 1,2-dithiane (0.24g, 2mmol) is dissolved in dry benzene (10ml) and added to the resin. The reaction mixture is stirred for 60 minutes and then the resin is washed with benzene (2 x 10ml). 1-Bromobutane (0.55g, 4mmol) is added to the resin and stirred for 12 hours at room temperature. The resin is collected by filtration, washed with THF (3 x 25ml), diethyl ether (3 x 25ml), THF/H 2 O (2/1, 3 x 25ml), benzene (3 x 25ml), methanol (3 x 25ml) and dried at 65°C under reduced pressure (2mbar). The modified resin (1.228g) is isolated with a yield of lithiation of 41 mol% and an overall yield of modification of 40 mol%. The modified resin contains approximately 1.4mmol sulphur-containing functional groups per gram of resin. Elemental analysis after lithiation and then treatment with water finds C, 72.44%;H, 5.79%. After modification elemental analysis finds C, 68.46%; H, 6.89%. [(C 8 H 8 ) 2.55 (C 8 H 7 Br) 2.37 (C 16 H 24 S 2 ) 1.65 ] n requires C, 68.16%; H, 6.67%; Br, 16.17%; S, 9.00%. Compound 42 : Bromopolystyrene is first prepared as for the synthesis of Compound 41 above. 0.5g, which contains approximately 2mmol of bromine, is placed in a dry round bottom flask which is then fitted with a septum and flushed with N 2 . Dry benzene (10ml) is added via a dry syringe, the mixture stirred for 30 minutes and then heated to 65°C. Butyllithium (1ml, 10mmol, 10M) is added via a dry syringe, and the mixture is stirred for another 180 minutes. The resin is washed with dry benzene (2 x 10ml). 1,2-Dithiane (0.5g, 4.1mmol) is dissolved in dry benzene (10ml) and added to the resin. The reaction mixture is stirred for 30 minutes and then the resin is washed with benzene (2 x 10ml). 1-Bromobutane (0.55g, 4mmol) is added to the resin and stirred for 12 hours at room temperature. The resin is collected by filtration, washed with THF (3 x 25ml), diethyl ether (3 x 25ml), THF/H 2 O (2/1, 3 x 25ml), benzene (3 x 25ml), methanol (3 x 25ml) and dried at 65°C under reduced pressure (2mbar). The modified resin is isolated with an overall yield of modification of 71 mol%. The modified resin contains approximately 2.3mmol sulphur- containing functional groups per gram of resin. Elemental analysis after lithiation and treatment with water finds C, 84.82%;H, 8.12%. After modification elemental analysis finds C, 73.16%; H, 8.36%. [(C 8 H 8 ) 3.08 (C 8 H 7 Br) 0.66 (C 16 H 24 S 2 ) 2.84 ] n requires C, 73.16; H, 7.94%. Comparative Example 1 Table 1 below compares the catalytic effect of an unmodified bromopolystyrene resin and a modified bromopolystyrene resin catalyst synthesised as above, (Compound 42 ) in the absence of any Lewis acid. The effect of the unmodified bromopolystyrene resin is comparable to that achieved when no catalyst is present, when the para:ortho ratio is approximately 8.7 and the mol% of parachlorometa-cresol is about 81. The modified bromopolystyrene resin performs poorly and decreases the para- selectivity of the reaction. Without being bound by any particular theory, it is believed that this may be caused by the presence of local hotspots where the concentration of SO 2 Cl 2 is high, caused by the high viscosity of the reaction mixture. Lowering the concentration may improve the selectivity and overall yield (see Comparative Example 2 below). Synthesis Example 2 This example illustrates the synthesis of two further sulphur-containing polymer compounds of general formula (I) (Compounds 43 and 44 ). Compound 43 : Merrifield resin (1.7mmol Cl per gram resin) is prepared for the synthesis by washing it with THF (3 x 25ml), diethyl ether (3 x 25ml), THF/H 2 O (2/1, 3 x 25ml), benzene (3 x 25ml), methanol (3 x 25ml) and then dried at 65°C under reduced pressure (2mbar). 1,2-Dithiane (1.5g, 12.6mmol) is placed in a dry round bottom flask which is then fitted with a septum and flushed with N 2 . Dry THF (30ml) is added via a dry syringe, and the mixture cooled to -78°C in a cardice/acetone bath. Butyllithium (5.9ml, 12.4mmol, 2.1M) is added via a dry syringe over 20 minutes, and the mixture is stirred at -78°C for another 20 minutes. The reaction is allowed to warm up to ambient temperature. The previously prepared Merrifield resin (3g, 5.1mmol Cl) is added rapidly with nitrogen flushing to the organolithium compound and the mixture stirred overnight at room temperature. The resin is collected by filtration, washed with THF (3 x 25ml), diethyl ether (3 x 25ml), THF/H 2 O (2/1, 3 x 25ml), benzene (3 x 25ml) and methanol (3 x 25ml) and dried at 65°C under reduced pressure (2mbar). Compound 43 is isolated with a yield of 93 mol% and 100% conversion of the functional group. Elemental analysis finds C, 82.89%; H, 8.58%. [(C 8 H 8 ) 7.12 (C 17 H 26 S 2 ) 1.70 ] n requires C, 83.07%; H, 8.16%. Compound 44 : 1,2-Dithiacyclooctane (0.74g, 5mmol) is placed in a dry round bottom flask which is then fitted with a septum and flushed with N 2 . Dry THF (30ml) is added via a dry syringe, and the mixture cooled to -78°C in a cardice/acetone bath. Butyllithium (1.9ml, 4.75mmol, 2.5M) is added via a dry syringe over 20 minutes, and the mixture is stirred at -78°C for another 20 minutes. The reaction is allowed to warm up to ambient temperature. The previously prepared Merrifield resin, see Compound 43, (1g, 1.7mmol Cl) is added rapidly with nitrogen flushing to the organolithium compound and the mixture stirred overnight at room temperature. The resin is collected by filtration, washed with THF (3 x 25ml), diethyl ether (3 x 25ml), THF/H 2 O (2/1, 3 x 25ml), benzene (3 x 25ml) and methanol (3 x 25ml) and dried at 65°C under reduced pressure (2mbar). Compound 44 is isolated with a yield of 95 mol% and 100% conversion of the functional group. Elemental analysis finds C, 82.98%; H, 8.90%. [(C 8 H 8 ) 7.12 (C 17 H 26 S 2 ) 1.70 ] n requires C, 83.07%; H, 8.16%. Comparative Example 2 Table 2 below compares the catalytic effect of an unmodified Merrifield resin and modified Merrifield resin compound, synthesised as the above Compounds 43 and 44 , in the absence or presence of AlCl 3 . The effect of the unmodified Merrifield resin, which is washed before use to remove low molecular weight impurities, is comparable to that achieved when no catalyst is present (the baseline results), when the para:ortho ratio is approximately 8.7 and the mol% of parachlorometa-cresol is about 81. The second entry in Table 2 shows the influence of Compound 43 on the chlorination of meta-cresol in the absence of AlCl 3 . The results are worse than the baseline results, but reducing the amount of catalyst used, and using AlCl 3 (as shown in entry 3 in the Table), produces dramatically improved results. The last three entries in Table 2 below utilise Compound 44, in which R 1 of the general formula I is a C 6 alkyl group. The selectivity achieved in entry 4 in the Table is similar to the baseline result. Carrying out the reaction in the presence of AlCl 3 (see entries 5 and 6 in Table 2) increases the para:ortho product ratio, and the amount of residual meta-cresol is small. Synthesis Example 3 This example illustrates the synthesis of a sulphur-containing polymer of general formula (II). Compound 45 : 1,6-Hexanedithiol (2.26g, 15mmol) is placed in a 100ml dry round bottom flask which is then fitted with a septum and flushed with N 2 . Dry THF (20ml) is added via a dry syringe and the mixture cooled to -78°C in a cardice/acetone bath. Butyllithium (12ml, 30mmol, 2.5M) is added via a dry syringe over 20 minutes and the mixture stirred at -78°C for another 30 minutes. The reaction is then allowed to warm up to room temperature. 1,8-Dibromooctane (3.76g, 13.5mmol) is added via a syringe and the reaction stirred at room temperature for 60 minutes. 1-Bromobutane (0.4g, 3mmol) may be added to the reaction mixture and stirring continued for 18 hours. The resin is collected by filtration, and washed with H 2 O (3 x 25ml), THF (3 x 25ml), hexane (3x25ml), methanol (3 x 25ml), and diethyl ether (3 x 25ml), and dried at 65°C under reduced pressure (1mbar). The polythia-alkane is isolated with a yield of 50mol% (1.952g). Elemental analysis finds C, 60.85%; H, 11.19%; S, 21.16%; Br, 7.30%. Br-S-C 8 H 16 -S-C 6 H 12 -(S-C 6 H 12 -S-C 8 H 16 ) 6.8 -Br requires C, 60.78%; H, 10.13%; S, 21.67%; Br 7.42%. Comparative Example 3 Table 3 below illustrates the catalytic effect of the polythia-alkane Compound 45 , synthesised in Synthesis Example 3 above, on the chlorination reaction of meta-cresol with sulphuryl chloride. The first and second entries in the Table show the results achieved, using one gram of Compound 45 as catalyst. The selectivity obtained in the absence of AlCl 3 is similar to the baseline result, which is a para:ortho ratio of approximately 8.7. The addition of AlCl 3 increases the para:ortho product ratio to approximately 17. Reducing the amount of catalyst present in the reaction mixture to 0.2g increases the ratio to 26.6, which is a highly desirable result.

Claims: A process for the chlorination of an aromatic compound of the following formula (A): wherein R A is H or C 1 -C 12 alkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, alkaryl, aralkyl or carboxyalkyl, the or each R B is selected from C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl or polyhaloalkyl, C 1 -C 4 alkoxy, C 5 -C 12 aryl, alkaryl or aralkyl, or halogen, and n is an integer which is 0, 1 or 2, and the or each R B , if present, may independently be attached at the ortho or the meta position, the said process comprising reacting the aromatic compound with a chlorinating agent in the presence of a sulphur-containing catalyst, optionally also in the presence of a Lewis acid co-catalyst of the formula MX m , where: M is a metal or metalloid; X is an electronegative group; and m is an integer; characterised in that the sulphur-containing catalyst is an organic compound according to the following formula (I) or formula (II): X 1 - R 3 - (S - R 4 - S - R 3 ) y - S - R 4 - X 2 in which: PS represents a polymeric backbone; x is an integer which is 0 or from 1 to 12; R 1 , R 2 , R 3 and R 4 are each independently selected from the group consisting of: optionally substituted straight or branched chain alkyl or alkanediyl having from 1 to 20 carbon atoms, and optionally substituted straight or branched chain alkaryl or aralkyl having from 5 to 20 carbon atoms; X 1 and X 2 are each independently selected from the group consisting of halogen, thiol, dialkylsulphonium halide and R 5 , where R 5 is selected from the group consisting of: optionally substituted straight or branched chain alkyl or alkanediyl having from 1 to 20 carbon atoms, and optionally substituted straight or branched chain alkaryl or aralkyl having from 5 to 20 carbon atoms; y is a number (which may be integral or non-integral) greater than zero; wherein in the above definitions of R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 and R 5 the optional substituents may be independently selected from the following: halogen, hydroxy, amino, cyano, nitro, C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, C 1 -C 4 alkoxy and (C 1 -C 4 alkoxy)carbonyl. A process according to claim 1, wherein the aromatic compound is phenol. A process according to claim 1, wherein the aromatic compound is meta-cresol. A process according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the chlorinating agent is sulphuryl chloride. A process according to any preceding claim, wherein the chlorination reaction is carried out in heterogeneous liquid/solid phase, without the presence of added solvent. A process according to any preceding claim, wherein the chlorination reaction is carried out at a temperature of below 35°C. A process according to any preceding claim, wherein the amount of sulphur-containing polymer/resin catalyst present in the reaction mixture is from 0.01g to 5g for each 100mmol of the aromatic compound present in the reaction mixture. A sulphur-containing polymer compound of the formula: in which: PS represents a polymeric backbone; x is an integer which is 0 or from 1 to 12; R 1 and R 2 are each independently selected from the group consisting of: optionally substituted straight or branched chain alkyl or alkanediyl having from 1 to 20 carbon atoms, and optionally substituted straight or branched chain alkaryl or aralkyl having from 5 to 20 carbon atoms; wherein in the above definitions of R 1 and R 2 the optional substituents may be independently selected from the following: halogen, hydroxy, amino, cyano, nitro, C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, C 1 -C 4 alkoxy and (C 1 -C 4 alkoxy)carbonyl. A compound according to claim 8, wherein R 1 and R 2 are each independently selected from optionally substituted straight or branched chain alkyl or alkanediyl having from 1 to 10 carbon atoms. A sulphur-containing compound of the formula X 1 -R 3 -(S-R 4 -S-R 3 ) y -S-R 4 -X 2 in which: R 3 and R 4 are each independently selected from the group consisting of: optionally substituted straight or branched chain alkyl or alkanediyl having from 1 to 20 carbon atoms, and optionally substituted straight or branched chain alkaryl or aralkyl having from 5 to 20 carbon atoms; X 1 and X 2 are each independently selected from the group consisting of halogen and dialkylsulphonium halide; y is a number (which may be integral or non-integral) greater than zero; wherein in the above definitions of R 3 and R 4 the optional substituents may be independently selected from the following: halogen, hydroxy, amino, cyano, nitro, C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 haloalkyl, C 1 -C 4 alkoxy and (C 1 -C 4 alkoxy)carbonyl. A compound according to claim 10, which is obtainable by reacting a compound of the formula HS-R 4 -SH with an organo-lithium reagent to form a compound of the formula LiS-R 4 -SLi, then reacting the product with a compound of the formula X 1 -R 3 -X 2 in which X 1 and X 2 are each independently selected from a halogen and each of R 3 and R 4 is as defined in claim 10. A compound according to claim 10, wherein both of X 1 and X 2 are halogen. A compound according to claim 12, wherein both of X 1 and X 2 are Br. A compound according to any one of claims 10 to 13, wherein R 3 and R 4 are each independently a C 6 -C 8 alkyl group. A process for the preparation of a sulphur-containing polymer compound of the formula (I), as defined in claim 8, the process comprising reacting a compound of the formula in which PS and x are as defined in claim 8 and Met is an electropositive metal, with a disulphide compound of the formula and then a compound of formula L-R 2 in which R 1 and R 2 are as defined in claim 8 and L is a leaving group. A process for the preparation of a sulphur-containing polymer compound of the formula (I), as defined in claim 8, the process comprising reacting a compound of the formula in which PS and x are as defined in claim 8 and L is a leaving group, with a sulphur-containing nucleophile of the formula R 2 -S-R 1 -S-Met in which R 1 and R 2 are as defined in claim 8, and Met is an electropositive metal. A process for the preparation of a sulphur-containing polymer compound of the formula (IIa) as defined in claim 10, the process comprising reacting together a compound of the formula MetS-R 4 -SMet in which R 4 is as defined in claim 10 and Met is an electropositive metal and a compound of the formula X 1 -R 3 -X 2 in which X 1 , X 2 and R 3 are as defined in claim 10. A process according to claim 17, wherein both of X 1 and X 2 are halogen. A process according to claim 18, wherein both of X 1 and X 2 are Br. Use of a sulphur-containing polymer compound according to any one of claims 8 to 14 as a catalyst in the chlorination of an aromatic compound of formula (A) as defined in claim 1 by a chlorinating agent.

Inventors: BROWN CHRISTOPHER MARTIN, PAYNE KEITH, SMITH KEITH, TZIMAS MICHAEL, BROWN, CHRISTOPHER MARTIN, PAYNE, KEITH, SMITH, KEITH, TZIMAS, MICHAEL
Applicants: UNIV WALES SWANSEA, THE UNIVERSITY OF WALES, SWANSEA
Application year: 1998
Main classification: C07C37
IPC codes: B01J31, C07C37, C08F8