Shriraj Shetty, Kavita Kulkarni
Cypermethrin has a growing demand in India. It is a cyclopropane carboxylate derivative which can be synthesized using 2-(2,2-dichlorovinyl)-3,3-dimethylcyclopropanecarboxylic acid chloride, sodium cyanide and metaphenoxy benzaldehyde. But, the cyclopropane carboxylate derivative is produced from 4-Chloro-3,3-dimethyl-2-(2,2,2- trichloroethyl)cyclobutanone. The cyclobutanone derivative is made through isomerization of 2-Chloro-3,3-dimethyl-2- (2,2,2-trichloroethyl)cyclobutanone. An attempt has been made to study this isomerization process, through a set of trials at laboratory scale. The 2-chloro cyclobutanone derivative is subjected to a combination of varied catalyst concentrations and temperature conditions to determine an optimum combination for maximum output of the desired isomer.