PROCESS FOR THE PREPARATION OF ALICYCLIC KETONES AND ALKYL-SUBSTITUTED ALICYCLIC ESTERS

摘要

Alicyclic ketones serving as raw materials in the preparation of alkyl-substituted alicyclic esters (such as alkyladamantyl esters) useful as raw materials for resists can be obtained at high purity by simple extraction without a special purification step such as distillation or recrystallization. According to the present invention, an alicyclic ketone is obtained by a process which comprises oxidizing an alicyclic hydrocarbon with concentrated sulfuric acid or fuming sulfuric acid, pouring the reaction fluid into water, and extracting the resulting mixture with an organic solvent, wherein the sulfuric acid concentration of the aqueous layer of the mixture to be extracted is adjusted to 60 to 90 % by weight prior to the extraction.