.beta.-N-aziridinopropionates of relatively high boiling alcohols or polyalcohols are prepared by transesterifying a .beta.-N-aziridinopropionate of a lower alcohol of 1 to 4 carbon atoms with a relatively high boiling alcohol or polyalcohol by a process in which the transesterification is carried out in the presence of, as a transesterification catalyst, a titanium(IV) or tin(IV) compound which is soluble in an organic medium.
Method for the highly selective transesterification of alkyl 3-alkoxypropionates, as well as several novel alkoxypropionate compounds, are provided. Transesterification catalyzed by titanium alkoxides or tin compounds does not catalyze the Michael reaction, and therefore, provide highly selective transesterification reactions of these reactive materials.
Disclosed is a high yield process for preparing di-substituted imidazoline fabric conditioning compounds. In this process, an acylating agent such as fatty acid is reacted with a specific polyamine, and the product of this reaction is thereafter reacted with either a fatty acid ester or glyceride under specifically-defined conditions and in the presence of an esterifying catalyst such as titanium alkoxide. Use of particular reaction conditions and an esterification catalyst significantly increases the yield of di-substituted imidazoline compounds.