Catalytic mechanism and reaction pathway of acetone ammoximation to acetone oxime over TS-1

A series of two-step reactions and several special experiments were designed and carried out to discover the reaction pathway of acetone ammoximation to acetone oxime over titanium silicalites-1 (TS-1) employing 25 wt% ammonia and 30 wt% hydrogen peroxide as the ammoximation agents. The experimental results show that the acetone oxime can form even if there is no direct contact between acetone and TS-1 catalysts, indicating the hydroxylamine route may be the most important catalytic mechanism for the reaction. HPLC, GC/MS and ion chromatography characterization results show that hydrogen peroxide can oxidize acetone oxime to acetone, nitrite and nitrate in the presence of TS-1. In addition, nitrite and nitrate can form in the reaction of H₂O₂ and NH₃ over TS-1. Based on these results, a possible overall reaction pathway of acetone ammoximation over TS-1 has been proposed.