PRODUCTS OF THE DIMERIZATION OF UNSATURATED FATTY-ACIDS .10. IDENTIFICATION OF ESTOLIDES IN EARLY PHASE OF THE DIMERIZATION

Dimeric fatty acids, obtained by dimerisaiton of the conjugated fatty acid (mixture of 9,11-Octadecadienoic acid and 10,12-Octadecadienoic acid) in presence of the catalyst molybdenum pentachloride and tin dichloride, could be separated after methylation with diazomethane. The isolated fraction of methyl-9-octadecanoyloxy-octadecanoat resp. methyl-10-octadecanoyloxyoctadecanoat and methyl-9-octadec-9-enoyloxy-octadecanoat resp. methyl-10-octadec-9-enoyloxy-octadecanoat was characterized. It could be shown that these estolides can be saponified to stearic acid, oleic acid and 9- resp. 10-hydroxyoctadecanoic acid. Thus saponification can serve as an unambiguous proof of estolide components. Analogous estolides could be identified in the early phase of the clay-catalyzed dimersiation of oleic and linoleic acid. The detection of estolides shows that at low dimerisation temperature at first hydroxy fatty acids are formed which are subsequently esterified with unsaturated fatty acids. In the final products of the dimerisation estolides are absent, because their formation is suppressed by higher temperatures.