Process for the preparation of polyphenylene ethers

摘要

The invention relates to a process for the preparation of high-molecular-weight polyphenylene ethers from monohydric phenols having alkyl substituents, by oxidative coupling reaction with oxygen in the presence of a copper salt/amine catalyst complex and in the presence of an aromatic C6- to C10-hydrocarbon as solvent, where the amine component is a combination of a N-hydrocarbon-substituted imidazole and a diamine of the formula R<1>HN-R<2>-NHR<3> and/or a secondary monoamine of the formula R<1>NH-R<3> and/or a primary and/or a tertiary amine, and where the substituents R<1> and R<3> of the diamine and of the secondary monoamine and the substituents of the primary and tertiary amine are lower alkyl and/or cycloalkyl groups having 1 to 12 carbon atoms, and the radicals R<2> are alkylene groups having 2 to 4 carbon atoms. Particularly suitable N-hydrocarbon-substituted imidazoles are N-methyl-, N-ethyl-, N-isopropyl-, N-n-butyl-, N-cyclohexyl-, N-octyl- and N-phenylimidazole, particularly suitable diamines are N,N'-di-tert-butylethylenediamine, particularly suitable secondary monoamines are di-n-butylamine and di-n-propylamine, particularly suitable primary amines are ethylhexylamine, octylamine and decylamine, and particularly suitable tertiary amines are butyldimethylamine and n-propyldimethylamine.