Process for the preparation of difunctional compounds of high enantiomeric purity
US5981809A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 4, 1996 |
| Grant date | Nov 9, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 4, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC C)Chemistry; Metallurgy
- CPC primaryC07C29/147
- WIPO fieldOrganic fine chemistry
- WIPO sectorChemistry
Abstract
A process for preparing a difunctional compound having high enantiomeric purity that is a 1,2-, 1,3-, or 1,4-diol, dithiol, or mercapto alcohol from an optically active starting material that includes an .alpha.-, .beta.-, or .gamma.-hydroxy (or mercapto) aldehyde, ketone, ester, or amide is described. The process is carried out in an anhydrous solvent medium and comprises (1) reducing the starting material with a metal hydride (e.g., sodium borohydride), (2) adding a coreactant that is substituted by at least one, but preferably two, hydroxyl or mercapto groups (e.g., pyrocatechol), and (3) directly distilling the product from the reaction medium. The coreactant preferably has a higher boiling point at normal atmospheric pressure than the difunctional compound. The difunctional compounds are used as reactants for syntheses of agrochemicals or pharmaceuticals, or as precursors for polymers.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.