GB952180A - Improvements in or relating to polyaryl sulphides - Google Patents

Abstract

A process for the preparation of polyaryl sulphides, especially diaryl sulphides comprises reacting an alkali metal thiophenolate of the formula: Rn . Ar . SM with an aryl halide of the formula: Clx . Ar1 . R1m to form a product being a compound of the formula: (Rn . Ar . S-)x . Ar1 . R1m in which Ar represents a benzene or naphtholene residue with or without further substituents, M an alkali metal, preferably sodium, the or each radical represented by R is a chlorine atom or a lower alkyl group containing from 1 to 4 carbon atoms and n is one to five, not more than one such radical R being chlorine or n is zero, X=1 or 2, Ar1 represents a benzene or naphtholene residue with or without further substituents not being nitro or carboxyl groups ortho or para to a chlorine atom, R1 represents chlorine or a lower alkyl group as aforesaid and m is zero or from one to five when x is one, or from one to four when x is two. Preferably the process is carried out in a solvent in which both reactants are soluble e.g. cyclohexanol, dioxane, dimethyl sulphoxide, pyridines, quinoline and dimethyl formamide. Specific products of which the preparation is described include diphenyl sulphides with from two to four chlorine substituents, 2-chloro-, 2.5- and 3.5-dichloro- and 2,4,5-trichloro-41-methyl-diphenyl sulphides, 2.5-dichloro-21,51-, -21,41- and -31,41-dimethyl-diphenyl sulphides, 2.45-trichloro-3,6,41-trimethyl diphenyl sulphide, 5,51-bis (41-chlorophenyl)-2,5-dichlorophenylene disulphide-1,4 and phenyl-a -naphthyl sulphide. The products have acaricidal activity and may be oxidized to sulphones or sulphoxides or chlorinated.