Patent ID: 8026374

Claim:
A process for preparing a (meth)acrylic ester of an N-hydroxyalkylated imidazole, the process comprising esterifying an N-hydroxyalkylated imidazole of formula (I) in which R 1 and R 2 are each independently hydrogen or C 1 -C 20 -alkyl, R 3 , R 4 and R 5 are each independently hydrogen or C 1 -C 20 -alkyl, C 1 -C 20 -alkylcarbonyl, C 2 -C 20 -alkenyl, C 2 -C 20 -alkenylcarbonyl, C 2 -C 20 -alkynyl, C 2 -C 20 -alkynylcarbonyl, C 3 -C 15 -cycloalkyl, C 3 -C 15 -cycloalkylcarbonyl, aryl, arylcarbonyl, a heterocycle or a halogen atom, and m and n are each integers in a range of in each case from 0 to 20, where m and n cannot simultaneously be 0, and in which the particular units bracketed by the variables m and n are present in any sequence, and in which, in the case that m≧2, R 1 and R 2 are in each case independent in the particular units, in the presence of at least one catalyst, with (meth)acrylic acid or transesterifying said N-hydroxyalkylated imidazole with at least one (meth)acrylic ester of a saturated alcohol.