Oxidation of Ketones to Esters Baeyer-Villiger Reaction

Oxidation of Ketones to Esters (Baeyer-Villiger Reaction) 

The oxidation of ketones to esters is known as the Baeyer-Villiger reaction and is effected mainly by hydrogen peroxide and peroxy acids, especially the organic peroxy acids. 

The mechanism is the same as that of the Dakin reaction of aromatic aldehydes (equation 359). The reaction is acid-catalyzed. The peroxy acid transfers oxygen onto the carbon of the carbonyl group and generates an unstable intermediate. A rearrangement of the groups bonded to the original carbonyl carbon results in the formation of esters or, with cyclic ketones, lactones [262, 303] (equation 379). 

Because migration of the groups attached to the carbonyl carbon takes place with the bonding electron pair, the migratory aptitudes of the two 

Hydrogen peroxide alone rarely converts ketones into esters [148, 1167]. It is used usually in the presence of an acid [128] or as a reoxidant [343] (equations 380 and 381). 

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Oxidation of Ketones to Esters (Baeyer-Villiger Reaction) with Peroxybenzoic Acid [305]... 

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