Patent ID: 7388082

Claim:
A process for preparation of an alkoxyalcohol adduct of rare earth monocarboxylate, represented by the formula (I): M(R 2 —COO) 3 .(R 1 O(CH 2 ) n OH) p (I) in which M is at least one rare earth element selected from the group consisting of Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb and Lu; R 1 is an aliphatic hydrocarbon group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms or a substituted aliphatic hydrocarbon group having 3 to 6 carbon atoms; R 2 is a hydrogen atom or an aliphatic hydrocarbon group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms which has or does not have a substituent; n is 2 or 3; and p is a number in the range of 0.5 to 3 comprising the step of: heating a rare earth carboxylate represented by the formula (II): M(R 2 —COO) 2 .mH 2 O (II) in which M and R 2 are the same as those defined above and m is a number satisfying the condition 0<m<4, together with an alkoxyalcohol represented by the formula (III): R 1 —O—(CH 2 ) n OH (III) in which R 1 and n are the same as those defined above, to remove water together with the alkoxyalcohol by distillation.