| abstract |
An aluminum compounds represented by the followingngeneral formula (1):n Al(R 1 -SO 3 ) l (R 2 ) m (R 3 ) n nwherein R 1 is a hydrocarbon group which may be substituted,nR 2 is a hydrocarbon group which may be substituted, annaliphatic hydrocarbonoxy group which may be substituted,nor a halogen atom, R 3 is an aromatic hydrocarbonoxy groupnwhich may be substituted, and l, m and n are independentlyna number of 0 to 3, with the proviso that l + m + n equalsn3, and l is not 0, an acid catalyst comprising thenaluminum compound, and a process for producing an ester,nacetal, ketal, ether or alkyl glycoside making use of thencatalyst. n The catalyst is suitable for use in a variety ofnacid-catalyzed reactions of alcohols, i.e., reactions withncarbonyl compounds, such as esterification,ntransesterification, acetalization and ketalization,netherification, ring-opening reactions of epoxy compounds,netc. in addition to the above-described respectivenreactions, is not deactivated by alcoholysis, has ansufficient activity, can easily control a reactionncatalyzed thereby and scarcely causes side reactions.nConsequently, the use of the catalyst permits thenproduction of the intended product at a high yield fromnstarting materials used in an almost equimolar proportion. |