Epoxy ethers

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR PREPARING VIC-EPOXY ETHER WHICH COMPRISES (1) CONTACTING A HALO-MONOEPOXY SUBSTITUTED ALLANE OF 3 TO 12 CARBON ATOMS PER MOLECULE WHICH HAS A V-CEPOXY GROUP ATTACHED TO A CARBON ATOMBEARING A HALOGEN SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF CHLORINE AND BROMINE, WITH A POLYHYDRIC PHENOL HAVING AT LEAST TWO PHENOLIC HYDROXYL GROUPS, SAID PHENOLIC HYDROXYL GROUPS BEING THE SOLE GROUPS THEREOF WHICH ARE REACTIVE WITH THE EPOXY GROUPS OF SAID SUBSTITUTED ALKANE, IN A REACTION MIXTURE CONTAINING A CATALYTIC AMOUNT OF AN ANHYDROUS BASIC CONDENSATION CATALYST AND AT LEAST 5 MOLES OF THE FORMER PER PHENOLIC HYDROXYL GROUP OF THE LATTER, WHEREBY NO MORE THAN ONE MOLECULE OF SAID HALO-MONOEPOXY-SUBSTITUTED ALKANE IS ADDED PER PHENOLIC GROUP OF SAID POLYHYDRIC PHENOL, (2) REMOVING RESIDUAL BASIC COMPOUNDS AND UNCONVERTED HALO-EPOXY-SUBSTITUTED ALKANES AND ANY DIMERS THEREOF FROM THE PRODUCT OF STEP (1), (3) CONTACTING THE PRODUCT OF STEP (2) WITH ANHYDROUS HYDROGEN HALIDE IN WHIC THE HALOGEN IS THE SAME AS THAT OF SAID HALO-MONEPOXY-SUBSTITUTED ALKANE, WHEREBY ANY VIC-EPOXY GROUPS IN SAID PRODUCT ARE CONVERTED TO HALOHYDRIN GROUPS, (4) REMOVING ANY LUNREACTED HYDROGEN HALIDE FROM THE PRODUCT OF STEP (3), (5) CONTACTING THE PRODUCT OF STEP (4) WITH AT LEAST 1 1/2 MOLES, PER HYDROXY GROUP OF SAID PHENOLIC COMPOUND, OF HALO-MONOEPOXY-SUBSTITUTED ALKANE IN THE PRESENCE OF A LEWIS ACID CATALYST, WHEREBY A LPRODUCT IS OBTAINED WHICH CONTAINS IN COMBINED FORM AN AVERAGE OF AT LEAST 2.5 OF SAID HALO-MONOEPOXY-SUBSTITUTED ALKANE MOLECULES FOR EACH ETHER LINKAGE ARISING FROM ONE OF SAID PHENOLIC HYDROXYLS AND WHEREIN EACH TERMINAL MONOMER UNIT CONTAINS A HALOHYDRIN GROUP, AND (6) THEN SUBJECTING THE PRODUCT OF STEP (5) TO DEHYDROHALOGENATION WHEREBY THE HALOHYDRIN GROUPS OF SAID POLYALKOXYALKANE ARE CONVERTED TO EPOXY GROUPS.