Patent ID: 7342140

Claim:
A process for preparing a polyetherol comprising reacting at least one alkylene oxide with at least one starter compound in the presence of a catalyst, wherein the catalyst is a multimetal oxide compound of the formula I: M 1 p [M 2 q O n (OH) 2(3-n) ] x (I), where M 1 is at least one metal selected from the group consisting of IA, IIA, IIIA, IVA, VA, IB, IIB, IIIB, IVB, VB, VIB, VIIB and VIIIB of the Periodic Table of the Elements, M 2 is at least one element of groups IVA, VA and/or VIA of the Periodic Table of the Elements, n is an integer or fraction from greater than 2 to 3, p is 1, q is a fraction or integer greater than 0 and x is a fraction or integer from 1 to 20, wherein the multimetal oxide compound of the formula I has a specific BET surface area of from 15 to 500 m 2 /g.