Green Catalytic Baeyer-Villiger Oxidation with Hydrogen Peroxide: In Water Reactions mediated by Pt(II) Catalysts

Baeyer–Villiger oxidation of cyclic ketones with 35% hydrogen peroxide as a green oxidant mediated by monomeric PtII complexes bearing alkyl diphosphines greatly benefits from the employment of water with anionic surfactants as reaction medium. Under such conditions, the reaction shows enhanced catalytic activity compared to that with organic solvents. For more acid sensitive substrates, hydrolysis of the lactone product to the corresponding hydroxy acid occurs. Mild experimental conditions, such as moderate temperature and low catalyst loading ( 2% mol), enabled moderate to good yields.