Process for preparing hydroxy diphenylamines

Claim 1

THE PROCESS OF PREPARING HYDROXY DIPHENYLAMINES WHICH COMPRISES REACTING A MIXTURE OF A PHENOL, A MONONITROBENZENE AND HYDROGEN IN CONTACT WITH A CATALYST MASS UNDER ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE AT A TEMPERATURE OF ABOUT 25* TO 35*C., SAID CATALYST MASS COMPRISING AN AQUEOUS DISPERSION OF A FINELY-DIVIDED HYDROGENATION CATALYST SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF PLATINUM, PALLADIUM AND THEIR OXIDES, FROM 1% TO 10% BY WEIGHT OF SULFURIC ACID, FROM 0.05% TO ABOUT 0.1%, BASED ON THE WEIGHT OF SAID DILUTE ACID SOLUTION, OF A WATER-SOLUBLE QUATERNARY AMMONIUM COMPOUND WHICH IS STABLE IN DILUTE SULFURIC ACID, SAID QUATERNARY AMMONIUM COMPOUND BEING TAKEN FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF TETRAALKYL AMMONIUM CHLORIDES AND BROMIDES CONTAINING AT LEAST ONE AND NOT MORE THAN TWO ALKYL GROUPS OF AT LEAST 10 CARBON ATOMS AND NOT MORE THAN 18 CARBON ATOMS, AND, C-N-ALKYL-BETAINES CONTAINING AN ALKYL GROUP OF FROM 12 TO 16 ATOMS, THE SAID PHENOL BEING SELECTED FROM THE CLASS CONSISTING OF MONO-, DI-, AND TRIHYDRIC PHENOLS, THE MONO-, LOWER ALKYL ETHERS OF THE DIHYDRIC PHENOLS AND THE MONO-, LOWER DI-ALKYL ETHERS OF THE TRI-HYDRIC PHENOLS, SAID ALKYL GROUPS HAVING FROM 1 TO 4 CARBON ATOMS, AND THE SAID MONONITROBENZENE HAVING THE FORMULA: