Process for converting alkylaromatic hydroperoxides into phenolic products and carbonyl products

Claim 1

In a process for converting a primary or secondary alkylaromatic hydroperoxide of the general formula: ##SPC2## in which: R represents a hydrogen or halogen atom, an alkyl radical containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms, a said alkyl radical substituted by a halogen atom, a nitro or alkoxy radical containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms, a nitro group, or an alkoxy radical containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms; R' represents a hydrogen atom; an alkyl radical containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms; a cycloalkyl radical; an aryl radical; or an aralkyl radical or, when R is in the ortho-position, together with R forms a divalent alkylene radical; and n represents an integer from 1 to 3, into phenolic and/or carbonyl compounds, which comprises reacting the hydroperoxide with a catalytic amount of a acid catalyst in the presence of an inert organic solvent, the improvement wherein the solvent is an aprotic polar solvent selected from a polymethylene-sulphone containing 3 to 6 methylene groups, one or more of said methylene groups optionally being substituted by an alkyl radical with 1 to 4 carbon atoms, and alkylene glycol carbonate containing 2 to 4 carbon atoms in the alkylene part.