Nascent hydrogen reduces it to hydroxylamine (q.v.), whilst solutions of hypochlorites oxidize it to nitric acid.
They are hydrolysed by dilute mineral acids yielding hydroxylamine and the parent aldehyde or ketone.
It behaves as a powerful reducing agent, and on hydrolysis with dilute mineral acids is decomposed into formaldehyde and hydroxylamine, together with some formic acid and ammonia, the amount of each product formed varying with temperature, time of reaction, amount of water present, &c. This latter reaction is probably due to some of the oxime existing in the form of the isomeric formamide HCO NH 2.
Benzaldoximes.-The a-oxime (benz-anti-aldoxime) is formed by the action of hydroxylamine on benzaldehyde.
The 0-form is obtained by the direct action of hydroxylamine hydrochloride on mesityl oxide, the hydrochloride so formed being decomposed by sodium carbonate.