Zeolite Beckmann rearrangement

Benzoxazoles are produced in high yield from a-acylphenol oximes by a Beckmann rearrangement using zeolite catalysts <95SC3315>. The reaction of the o-benzoquinone 40 with aromatic aldehyde oximes produces the benzoxazoles 41 <95ZOR1060>. The fused oxazolium salts 43 (R = Me, Et, Pr , or Ph R2 = Me or Pr ) are formed from tropone and nitrilium hexachloroantimonates 42 <96JPR598>. 

Regeneration of high silica zeolite used for Beckmann rearrangement... 

Beckmann rearrangement of oxime is an acid catalysed reaction. The environmental problems associated with the use of sulphuric acid instigated interest to use number of solid acid catalysts [1], There are only scanty references about Lewis acid ion-exchanged MeAlPOs. Beyer et al. [2], Mihalyi et al. [3] and Mavrodinova et al. [4] already suggested the presence of Lewis acid metal ions as MO+ species in zeolites. The present study focussed the synthesis and characterisation of Fe3+, La3+ and Ce3+ ion-exchanged MAPO-36. The catalytic results of Beckmann rearrangement of cyclohexanone oxime over ion-exchanged catalysts are delineated in this article. 

Zeolites have also been described as efficient catalysts for acylation,11 for the preparation of acetals,12 and proved to be useful for acetal hydrolysis13 or intramolecular lactonization of hydroxyalkanoic acids,14 to name a few examples of their application. A number of isomerizations and skeletal rearrangements promoted by these porous materials have also been reported. From these, we can underline two important industrial processes such as the isomerization of xylenes,2 and the Beckmann rearrangement of cyclohexanone oxime to e-caprolactam,15 which is an intermediate for polyamide manufacture. Other applications include the conversion of n-butane to isobutane,16 Fries rearrangement of phenyl esters,17 or the rearrangement of epoxides to carbonyl compounds.18... 

Zeolites and other mesoporous materials are excellent catalysts for industrial and laboratory applications. Favourable characteristics are their capacity to immobihze homogenous catalysts rendering them heterogeneous, their thermal stability, and the ease of separation from the reaction products and reuse in hquid- and gas-phase conditions. The pore size and Brpnsted and Lewis acidic properties are determinant for their use as catalyst in the Beckmann rearrangement. Recently, a review on the use of zeolites and mesoporous materials in the Beckmann rearrangement was published. ... 

Theoretical studies on the Beckmann rearrangement mechanism over zeolite catalyst supported by experimental data have increased. The catalytic activity of the zeohte is determined by Brpnsted and Lewis acid sites created by protonation or activation by metallic cations. The reactivity of the acid sites is strongly influenced by the geometry and flexibility of the zeolite framework ". ... 

According to Limtrakul and colleagues the mechanism of the Beckmann rearrangement of the oxime molecule on the Br0nsted acid site of a zeolite proceeds according to the following steps outlined in equation 73. 

Rare-earth exchanged [Ce ", La ", Sm"" and RE (RE = La/Ce/Pr/Nd)] Na-Y zeolites, K-10 montmorillonite clay and amorphous silica-alumina have also been employed as solid acid catalysts for the vapour-phase Beckmann rearrangement of salicylaldoxime 245 to benzoxazole 248 (equation 74) and of cinnamaldoxime to isoquinoline . Under appropriate reaction conditions on zeolites, salicyl aldoxime 245 undergoes E-Z isomerization followed by Beckmann rearrangement and leads to the formation of benzoxazole 248 as the major product. Fragmentation product 247 and primary amide 246 are formed as minor compounds. When catalysts with both Br0nsted and Lewis acidity were used, a correlation between the amount of Br0nsted acid sites and benzoxazole 248 yields was observed. 

Acidic zeolites, K-10 clay and silica are highly active and selective catalysts for the dehydration/Beckmann rearrangement reactions of aldoxhnes (benzaldoxime and 4-methoxybenzaldoxime) for the synthesis of nitriles and amides . 

As the Beckmann rearrangement is believed to be a typical acid-catalysed reaction, many researchers have reported the relationship between the vapour phase reaction catalysis and the acidity of the catalysts tested on non-zeolitic catalysts - i2s- i3i. 318-334 and on zeolitic catalysts Another interesting point for the heterogeneous gas-phase Beckmann rearrangement is the location of the reaction on the catalyst and different studies have been published ° . The outer surface of the catalyst particle seems to be the most probable place for the Beckmann rearrangement supported by the traces of reagents, and notable amounts of by-products found only in the outer layers of the zeolite crystal. Development of new and more efficient catalysts have also been reported " . ... 

Recently, the Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. developed the vapour-phase Beckmann rearrangement process for the production of 8-caprolactam. In the process, cyclohexanone oxime is rearranged to e-caprolactam by using a zeolite as a catalyst instead of sulfuric acid. EniChem in Italy developed the ammoximation process that involves the direct production of cyclohexanone oxime without producing any ammonium sulfate. The Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. commercialized the combined process of vapour-phase Beckmann rearrangement and ammoximation in 2003 ". 

It has been described the reaction of cyclohexanone oxime with solids of different nature, as zeolites (refs. 4 and 5) and aluminum phosphates (ref. 6), giving rise to the Beckmann rearrangement product, E-caprolactame when the reactions are carried out in the gas phase at relatively high temperatures (>300°C). 

The rearrangement of cyclohexanone oxime to caprolactam is still an important step in nylon production, and the heterogeneously catalyzed Beckmann rearrangement has been extremely well investigated (4, 16-19). In order to obtain catalysts that couple a high lactam selectivity to long lifespan, careful tuning of the zeolite properties is required. Some important factors are ... 

Strong acid zeolites with 12-MR pores do not seem suitable candidates for the Beckmann rearrangement therefore. However, provided a diluting alcohol such as 1-hexanol is fed together with cyclohexanone oxime, long catalyst lifetimes and high selectivities can be observed, even for H-Beta and H-USY. Clearly, the 1-... 

Another pertinent example is provided by the manufacture of caprolactam [135]. Current processes are based on toluene or benzene as feedstock, which can be converted to cyclohexanone via cyclohexane or phenol. More recently, Asahi Chemical [136] developed a new process via ruthenium-catalysed selective hydrogenation to cyclohexene, followed by zeolite-catalysed hydration to cyclo-hexanol and dehydrogenation (Fig. 1.49). The cyclohexanone is then converted to caprolactam via ammoximation with NH3/H202 and zeolite-catalysed Beckmann rearrangement as developed by Sumitomo (see earlier). 

As already discussed in Chapter 1, the commercialization, by Sumitomo [GO-64], of a vapor phase Beckmann rearrangement of cyclohexanone oxime to caprolactam over a high-silica MFI (ZSM-5 type) zeolite (Fig. 2.21) is another benchmark in zeolite catalysis. The process, which currently operates on a 90000 tpa scale, replaces a conventional one employing stoichiometric quantities of sulfuric acid and producing ca. 2 kg of ammonium sulfate per kg of caprolactam. 

The Beckmann rearrangement of ketoximes to the corresponding amides (31), the Fischer indole cyclization, isomerization of epoxides to the corresponding aldehydes, ketones, or alcohols, hydration and ammo-nolysis of epoxides, oxygen-sulfur interchange, formation of diaryl-ureas and -thioureas from condensation of aniline and carbonyl sulfide, and olefin carbonylation occur over zeolite catalysts (62). The oxo reaction over rhodium and cobalt containing zeolites recently has been claimed (22). 

The most prominent examples of this type of reaction are the Fischer Indole synthesis, the Beckmann rearrangement and the benzylamine rearrangement. For all three reactions rather complex mechanisms have been proposed. On comparing the structure- activity relationships for these transformations, it becomes clear that generalisations are difficult and that a complex interplay between pore shape and size, the acid strength and the polarity of the zeolite lattice seems to control the activity and selectivity for a given reaction. 

Most of the catalytic activity of zeolites has been concerned with their ability to act as shape selective solid acids. The vapor phase Beckmann rearrangement of cyclohexanone oxime over HY zeolite at 300°C gave caprolactam in 80% selectivity at 82% conversion (Eqn. 10.22). 5... 

Representative Beckmann Rearrangement Reactions over Zeolite Catalyst ... 

Hydrogenation is selective for size and shape.200 Cyclohexene, but not cyclododecene, was reduced by hydrogen with a rhodium in NaY zeolite. The Beckmann rearrangement of cyclohexanone oxime to caprolactam (6.37) (for... 

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