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 bmimNTf₂, 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.