Patent ID: 8791308

Claim:
A process for the hydroxylation of a substrate, wherein the process comprises reacting said substrate with hydrogen peroxide, in the presence of an effective amount of an acid catalyst and obtaining pyrocatechol (PC) and hydroquinone (HQ) at a ratio of PC/HQ of between 1.4 and 2.2, wherein the substrate is a phenol, a phenol ether, or a substituted phenolic compound, and wherein the substrate has at least one hydrogen atom at the ortho and para position of the hydroxyl or ether group, and wherein the acid catalyst comprises a mixture of at least two strong acids one of the strong acids is a strong protonic acid having a pk a (S) greater than or equal to that of sulfuric acid and a ΔpK a (S) with respect to sulfuric acid of less than or equal to 4 and greater than or equal to 0, and wherein the strong protonic acid does not include an oxyacid of phosphorus in the +5 oxidation state, and the other acid being selected from superacids.