Preparation of hydroxy aromatic carboxylic acids and ester derivatives thereof.

摘要

A process for preparing hydroxy aromatic carboxylic acids, or the ester derivatives thereof, comprises carbonylating a hydroxy aromatic halide in the presence of a reactive alcohol solvent and a catalytic amount of a Group VIII metal catalyst. The process has particular applicability to the preparation of 6-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid from 6-bromo-2-naphthol, which can be easily prepared from β-naphthol, a readily available and inexpensive starting material.