Ammoximation of citronellal with H ₂O ₂ catalyzed by TS-1

The TS-1/H ₂O ₂ system has excellent catalytic performance in citronellal ammoximation to citronellal oxime. The effects of various reaction parameters on the catalytic properties of TS-1 were studied in detail. Under the optimized reaction conditions, citronellal conversion and citronellal oxime selectivity are over 99.9% and 99.2%, respectively. We found that there is also aldol condensation, which is competitive with ammoximation. Moreover, the epoxidation and ammoximation of citronellal catalyzed by TS-1 are also competitive reactions. The side reactions can be restrained efficiently by adjusting NH ₃ amount in reaction system.