Liquid-phase synthesis of isopulegol from citronellal using mesoporous molecular sieves mcm-41 and zeolites

Isopulegol (IPG) was synthesized from citronellal (CTN) at atmospheric pressure and 40~60°C in a batch reactor by using mesoporous molecular sieves MCM-41 as well as zeolites HZSM-5 and Hβ. The catalysts were characterized by the methods of XRD, N₂ adsorption, ²⁷Al and ²⁹Si MAS-NMR and TPD of ammonia. Under our reaction conditions, Al-MCM-41 was found to be the best catalyst; it exhibited much higher activity, despite slightly lower IPG selectivity. The catalytic results depend on a variety of factors, viz. the acidity, the pore size and the pore channel of catalysts. The reaction paths were proposed and the kinetic parameters for competitive first order reactions of CTN were estimated. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.