Olefinic compounds and reaction products thereof

The invention comprises water-insoluble, ionizable adducts of a mercuric salt of a cation exchange resin which is a sulphonated polymer of styrene cross-linked with divinyl benzene, an olefinic compound and a saturated alcohol of 1-4 carbon atoms and ketonic oxidation products made by oxidizing a C8- 25 aliphatic olefinic compound with ionizable mercuric mercury in the presence of a C1- 4 aliphatic alcohol and at least a trace of water, the reaction being effected in the presence of a sulphonated vinyl-aryl type of cation-exchange resin having a pore size sufficient to accommodate a molecule of the olefinic compound, and the oxidation product being extracted by means of an organic solvent. Specified olefinic compounds include straight and branched chain olefinic hydrocarbons, unsaturated alcohols, unsaturated acids and esters thereof. The mercury is preferably in the form of a water-soluble salt of an organic or inorganic acid. A catalyst, e.g. an acid, base or peroxy compound, may be present. The preferred solvent for elution of the oxidation products is the alcohol used in the first step, but other solvents, e.g. ether, acetone, petroleum fractions, aromatic hydrocarbons and chlorinated hydrocarbons, may be used. The examples relate to the preparation of ketones, keto-esters and keto-alcohols.ALSO:A water-insoluble, ionizable adduct comprises a mercuric salt of a cation exchange resin which is a sulphonated polymer of styrene cross-linked with divinyl benzene, an aliphatic olefinic compound and a C1- 4 saturated alcohol, the resin having a pore size large enough to accommodate the molecule of the olefinic compound. Preferred resins are those containing 1-12% by weight of divinyl benzene based on styrene. Specified olefinic compounds are hydrocarbons, unsaturated alcohols, unsaturated acids and esters thereof. The adducts may be made by first forming the mercuric salt of the resin, by treating the acid form with an aqueous solution of a mercuric salt, followed by treatment with the olefinic compound and the alcohol, either simultaneously or separately. Examples relate to adducts of resins cross-linked with 2 and 4% of divinyl benzene and methyl oleate, methyl eleidate, methyl linoleate, octadecene and oleyl alcohol.