Lower alkyl-4-hydroxyethoxybenzoates - prepd from lower alkyl-4-hydroxybenzoates and ethylene oxide

摘要

alkyl esters of 4-(2-hydroxyethoxy)-benzoic acid, which are starting materials for synthetic fibres and films, are produced economically in high yields by dissolving or suspending a mixture of (I) an alkali salt of a lower alkyl 4-hydroxybenzoate and (II) a lower alkyl 4-hydroxybenzoate in an inert organic solvent and contacting the resulting solution or suspension with ethylene oxide. The proportion of (I) to (II) is pref. 1 : 1 to 1 : 50, esp. 1 : 2 to 1 : 20, and the reaction temperature is pref. 70 - 100 degrees C.