Conversion of pyrethroid isomers to more active species

摘要

Crystalline pyrethroid isomers or enantiomer pairs are converted to more pesticidally active isomers by contacting a hydrocarbon slurry of the starting isomers with an epimerization agent selected from the group consisting of 1,1,3,3-tetramethylguanidine and 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene, agitating the slurry while maintaining a temperature effective for conversion, and recovering the resulting isomers. The process typically is effective for enriching cypermethrin, and cyfluthrin.