AN IMPROVED PROCESS FOR THE PREPARATION OF ESTERS FROM CARBOXYLIC ACIDS USING LEWIS ACID CATALYSTS.

摘要

The invention provides an improved process for the esteriflcation of a wide variety of carboxylic acid such as aromatic, aliphatic, α , β -unsaturated or dicarboxylic acids using readily available Lewis acid catalysts such as CuC12, A1c13, ZnC12, CeCl3 and FeCl3, BF3 Et2O. The important feature of the invention is that the reactions were carried out at room temperature avoiding the use of hydrocarbon solvents .