Production of o-hydroxy-acetophenone derivatives

摘要

A process for the production of o-hydroxy-acetophenone derivatives of formula (I) comprises the Fries rearrangement of p-alkyl-phenol esters of formula (II) in presence of acidic, chlorine-free catalysts selected from (a) pure or metal-doped montmorillonite or (b) compounds of formula R3-(SO3H)m (III); (where R1 = 1-4C alkyl; R2 = 7-13C alkyl in the para position to the hydroxyl group; R3 = aromatic or aliphatic hydrocarbyl or a poly-organosiloxane residue; m = 1 or more).