| Abstract: | Mechanistic features of the reaction with thionyl chloride in pyridine were studied in a model reaction of benzoic acid with p-chlorophenol or aniline. The yields were significantly affected by the amounts of pyridine, favorably by four equivalents, and the nature of pyridine, suggesting that pyridines are not only HCl scavengers, but are also involved in the reaction itself. The reaction was assumed to proceed via a carboxylic sulfinic-anhydride intermediate different from acyl chloride, and the intermediate was found to be not so reactive that it was completely alcoholyzed by the phenol at high temperatures of more than 60°C. The reaction was successfully applied to the preparation of aromatic polyesters of high molecular weights by the direct polycondensation of aromatic dicarboxylic acids and bisphenols in pyridine at 80°C. |
