PURPOSE: To prepare a tertiary amine without lowering the catalytic activity and selectivity, by reacting a specific alcohol or a polyether alcohol with an amine corresponding to the objective amine in the presence of a particular colloidal catalyst,.
CONSTITUTION: A tertiary amine is prepared by reacting an alcohol of formula II (R1 and R2 are H or 1W24C group), or a polyether alcohol of formula III or IV (R3 is H or CH3; R4 is 8W18C group; n is 1W20) with a corresponding amine of formula I (R5 is 1W24C group), at 150W300°, in the presence of a catalyst obtainedby reducing a mixture of (A) a carboxylic acid salt of copper or silver or their intramolecular complex, (B) a carboxylic acid salt of a VIII-group element, Mn or Zn or their intramolecular complex, and (C) a carboxylic acid or its alkali or alkaline earth metal salt, or a mixture of (A), (B) and (C) wherein both (A) and (B) are carboxylic acid salts, or a mixture of (A), (B) and (C) wherein one of (A) and (B) is a carboxylic acid salt and the other is an intramolecular complex, with a reducing agent selected from H, a mixture of H and an amine of formula I, or other reducing agents.
NOMURA SEIJI
KAWAKAMI TAKAHIRO
