Patent ID: 7358362

Claim:
A process for preparing terylene-3,4:11,12-tetracarboximides of the general formula I in which the variables are each defined as follows: R, R′ are each independently hydrogen; C 1 -C 30 -alkyl whose carbon chain may be interrupted by one or more —O—, —S—, —NR 1 —, —CO— and/or —SO 2 — moieties and which may be mono- or polysubstituted by cyano, C 1 -C 6 -alkoxy, aryl which may be substituted by C 1 -C 18 -alkyl or C 1 -C 6 -alkoxy, and/or a 5- to 7-membered heterocyclic radical bonded via a nitrogen atom which may contain further heteroatoms and be aromatic; C 5 -C 8 -cycloalkyl whose carbon skeleton may be interrupted by one or more —O—, —S— and/or —NR′— moieties, and/or which may be mono- or polysubstituted by C 1 -C 6 -alkyl; aryl or hetaryl which may be mono- or polysubstituted by C 1 -C 18 alkyl, C 1 -C 6 -alkoxy, cyano, halogen, —CONHR 2 and/or aryl- or hetarylazo, each of which may be substituted by C 1 -C 10 -alkyl, C 1 -C 6 -alkoxy or cyano; R 1 is hydrogen or C 1 -C 6 -alkyl; and R 2 is hydrogen, C 1 -C 18 -alkyl; aryl or hetaryl, each of which may be substituted by C 1 -C 6 -alkyl, C 1 -C 6 -alkoxy, halogen, hydroxyl, carboxyl or cyano, which comprises reacting a perylene-3,4-dicarboximide of the general formula II in the presence of a base-stable, high-boiling organic solvent and an alkali metal or alkaline earth metal base, with a naphthalene-1,8-dicarboximide of the general formula III in which X is hydrogen, bromine or chlorine.