| abstract |
Phenol is converted into 2-chlorophenol by direct action of chlorine in an unpolar, perchlorinated hydrocarbon as the solvent, such as carbon tetrachloride, tetrachloroethane or hexachlorobutadien, in the presence of 10-500 ppm of a branched-chain amine of the formula <IMAGE> in which R1 denotes a secondary alkyl radical having 3 to 10 carbon atoms or a tertiary alkyl radical having 4 to 10 carbon atoms and R2 denotes hydrogen or a secondary alkyl radical having 3 to 10 carbon atoms, where, if R1 denotes a secondary alkyl radical, R2 is also always a secondary alkyl radical, and if R1 denotes a tertiary alkyl radical, R2 is always hydrogen, giving excellent yields. 2-chlorophenol is a valuable intermediate for the preparation of pesticidal active substances. |