A process for preparing a substantially single enantiomer of tramadol, or a pharmaceutically-acceptable salt thereof, proceeds by means of a classical salt resolution using a substantially single enantiomer of O,O-di-p-toluoyltartaric acid as a resolving agent.

A method of preparing a non-aqueous dispersion of CuPc which comprises milling crude CuPc in a high boiling liquid at a temperature from 50.degree. to 150.degree. C. in the presence of a polyester amine or polyesterammonium salt and a CuPc fluidising agent. Preferred polyesterammonium salt is obtainable by reacting polyhydroxystearic acid with 3-dimethylaminopropylamine quaternised with dimethylsulphate.

5-Chloro-2-(4,4-difluorobutylthio)thiazole is prepared from 2-mercaptotriazole by a multistep process involving S-alkylation, chlorination and dehydrochlorination and is converted by oxidation to the corresponding sulfone which is useful as an agricultural nematicide.

This invention relates to a catalytic transfer hydrogenation process using water as a solvent in the preparation of substituted indolinone derivatives.

The present invention provides the novel chlorofluorohydrocarbon 1,1-difluoro-1,4-dichlorobutane, and a process for its preparation by reacting 1,1,1,4-tetrachlorobutane with hydrogen fluoride in the liquid phase. The product has useful solvent properties and is also useful in synthetic chemistry for the introduction of fluorocarbon functionality.

The present invention provides a process for the production of a compound of formula: ##STR1## in which X and Y, independently, are hydrogen, halogen, NO.sub.2, CF.sub.3, CN, C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl, C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkoxy, COO--C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl, CO--C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl, NH--(C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl), N(C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl).sub.2, NH(C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl-OH), N(C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl-OH).sub.2, COOH or SO.sub.3 H or an ester or amide thereof, or COOM or SO.sub.3 M in which M is Na, ...

A process is described for the preparation of phospholene-1-oxides and 1-sulfides having an aliphatic substituent in the 1-position, a double bond at the 2- or 3-positions and, optionally, having additional substituents at one or more of positions 2, 3, 4 or 5. The process comprises the reaction of a 1-(2-chloroalkoxy)-phospholene with the appropriate aliphatic alcohol or thiol optionally in the presence of an alkylation catalyst. Use of an aliphatic alcohol gives rise to a phospholene oxide whi...

The novel process of the invention for the preparation of a compound of the formula ##STR1##

A process is described for the production of cyclohexanedimethanol by hydrogenation of a dialkyl cyclohexanedicarboxylate which comprises the steps of: (a) providing a hydrogenation zone containing a charge of a granular reduced manganese promoted copper catalyst; (b) forming a vaporous feed stream of a hydrogenatable material comprising a dialkyl cyclohexanedicarboxylate and from about 0.1 wt % up to about 15 wt % of an acidic material at a feed temperature which is in the range of from about 1...

There is disclosed a process for the preparation of a compound of structure (I) ##STR1## in which n is 1 to 3 and each group R is hydrogen or C.sub.1-4 alkyl, which comprises, reaction of compound of structure (II) ##STR2## (prepared by esterifying the hydroxyl compound) in which R.sup.1 is C.sub.1-4 alkyl, phenyl or substituted phenyl and n is 1 to 3, with an amine HNR.sub.2 in which R is as described for structure (I), and optionally thereafter forming a salt. Intermediates are also disclosed.