Instantaneous, Facile and Selective Synthesis of Tetrabromobisphenol A using Potassium Tribromide: An Efficient and Renewable Brominating Agent

An instantaneous method for the bromination of bisphenol A has been reported using potassium tribromide for the first time as an efficient brominating agent affording the corresponding tetrabromobisphenol A in a reaction time of only 5−10 min at ambient temperature in high yields (99%) and purity (>99%), free from reaction byproduct and having very low ionic impurities. Mild reaction conditions and simple workup provide a practical and commercially viable route for the synthesis of the largest selling flame retardant. The generated HBr during the bromination reaction is used either in the preparation of value-added brominated products or is disposed of as waste, causing serious environmental problems. An environmentally acceptable method for an inbuilt recycling of HBr by its neutralisation, thereby generating additional amounts of metal bromide and recovering the solvent from the liquid mixture has been designed and developed. The KBr used for the preparation of potassium tribromide can be recovered, regenerated in additional amounts, and reused without any significant loss.