The Baeyer-Villiger oxidation of ketones with bis(trimethylsilyl) peroxide in the presence of ionic liquids as the solvent and catalyst

A new method for lactone synthesis with bis(trimethylsilyl) peroxide as the oxidant and ionic liquids as solvents is reported. We propose two possibilities for the Baeyer-Villiger reaction course. The first of these is based on simply exchanging dichloromethane, the classical solvent for Baeyer-Villiger oxidation, for the ionic liquid bmimNTf(2), which results in increased product yields. The second possibility is the elimination of the Baeyer-Villiger reaction catalyst and use of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium trifluoromethanesulfonate as both the solvent and catalyst. This method gives lactones in high yields with the possibility of ionic liquid recycling.