Przemysl Chemiczny, Vol.98, No.10, 1587-1593, 2019
Method of epsilon-caprolactone synthesis by chemo-enzymatic oxidation of cyclohexanone in emulsion
A mixt. of cyclohexanone, decanoic acid (1:1 by vol.) as well as 35% aq. H2O2 was applied. Cyclohexanone was used as both reagent and solvent. Native form of lipase B Candida antarctica was used as a biocatalyst to generate in situ an org. peracid. The high yield of product (81%) with very high selectivity (96%) was achieved after 2 h under mild conditions (45 degrees C, atm. pressure).