Process for preparing halogenated aromatic hydroxy ethers

Claim 1

A process for the selective oxyalkylation of a halogenated phenol to produce hydroxy ethers wherein the process is carried out at a reaction temperature of about 90° C. to about 250° C. for a period of about one hour to about 100 hours using a catalyst concentration by weight of about 50 to about 20,000 parts per million, comprising: (a) reacting a composition comprising said halogenated phenol in admixture with an aliphatic hydroxyl-containing compound with (b) an alkylene oxide selected from the group consisting of ethylene oxide, propylene oxide, the isomeric normal butylene oxides, hexylene oxide, octylene oxide, dodecene oxide, methoxy and other alkoxy propylene oxides, styrene oxide, and cyclohexene oxide; halogenated alkylene oxides selected from the group consisting of epichlorohydrin, epiiodohydrin, epibromohydrin, 3,3-dichloropropylene oxide, 3-chloro-1,2-epoxypropane, 3-chloro-1,2-epoxybutane, 1-chloro-2,3-epoxybutane, 3,4-dichloro-1,2-epoxybutane, 1,4-dichloro-2,3-epoxybutane, 1-chloro-2,3-epoxybutane, and 3,3,3-trichloropropylene oxide; and mixtures of any said alkylene oxides in the presence of (c) a catalyst selected from the group consisting of zinc, magnesium, a weak acid salt of zinc or magnesium, a zinc or magnesium halide or nitrate and mixtures thereof wherein said weak acid salt is selected from the group consisting of the carbonate, silicate, acetate, benzoate, citrate, formate, oxylate, stearate, tartrate, and mixtures thereof.