Patent ID: 7935829

Claim:
A process for the manufacture of a thiolactone of the general formula or a hydroxythiolactone of the general formula or the ring-opened hydroxythiolactone of the general formula I″ or isomers thereof wherein each of R 1 and R 2 , independently, signifies —NR 4 R 5 and R 4 and R 5 , each independently, signify hydrogen, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, substituted or unsubstituted alkenyl, substituted or unsubstituted cycloalkyl, substituted or unsubstituted aryl, optionally aromatically substituted arylalkyl, optionally aromatically substituted arylalkenyl, cycloalkylalkyl substituted or unsubstituted on the cycloalkyl moiety, heterocyclyl, substituted or unsubstituted alkanoyl, substituted or unsubstituted aroyl, substituted or unsubstituted alkylsulphonyl, substituted or unsubstituted arylsulphonyl or a silyl group Si(alkyl) 3 , Si(aryl) 3 or Si(alkyl) 1 or 2 (aryl) 2 or 1 , or the two symbols R 4 alternatively form together a carbonyl group and the two remaining symbols R 5 , each independently, have one of the above mentioned significances stated for R4 and R5 wherein the process comprises hydrogenating a cyclic thioanhydride of the general formula in the presence of a group VIII metal catalyst.