Modified calcium oxide as stable solid base catalyst for Aldol condensation reaction

Abstract

A highly efficient and stable solid-base catalyst for Aldol condensation was prepared by modifying commercial CaO with benzyl bromide in a simple way. It was found that modified CaO can effectively catalyse the Aldol condensation of cyclohexanone and benzaldehyde, as well as various benzaldehydes, to produce 2-benzylidenecyclohexanone with a good selectivity and high yield. Higher yield of 95.8% was obtained over modified CaO after 3 h, which is short compared with the yield of 92.1% after 12 h over commercial CaO. The influence of several reaction parameters, such as temperature, catalyst loading, was investigated. The humidity test over modified CaO reveals that the basic centres of modified CaO are stable for CO2 and moisture. From the results of Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) and Thermogravity analysis (TG) characterization, the modifier was bonded on surface of CaO chemically and almost no Ca(OH)2 formed during the modification process. The type of aldehyde has great influence on the yield of aldol condensation.