Baeyer-Villiger rearrangement catalysed by titanium silicate molecular sieve (TS-1)/H2O2 system

Titanium silicate molecular sieve TS-1 has been found to be an efficient catalyst for Baeyer-Villiger (BV) oxidation of cyclic and aromatic ketones under triphase conditions (solid catalyst along with two immiscible liquid reactants in the absence of any cosolvent), using dilute H2O2 Reactions studied are the oxidation of cyclohexanone and acetophenone. Whereas in the case of cyclohexane, epsilon-caprolactone, a BV product along with hydroxy and diketones is formed, in the case of acetophenone, phenyl acetate, a BV product dong with o- and p-hydroxyacetophenone is formed. The acidic nature of titanium peroxo species, stabilised by water, is proposed to be responsible for such reactions under triphasic reaction conditions.