Issue 48, 2019

Aqueous microdroplets containing only ketones or aldehydes undergo Dakin and Baeyer–Villiger reactions

Abstract

The Dakin and Baeyer–Villiger (BV) oxidation reactions require addition of peroxides as oxidants and an acid or a base as a catalyst. Reaction times range from hours to days to obtain target products. Previously, we reported that hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is spontaneously generated in water microdroplets without any added chemicals or applied electrical potential. Here, we report that the Dakin and BV reactions occur in modest yields within milliseconds in aqueous microdroplets at room-temperature without the addition of external peroxides and catalysts. H2O2 generation is the result of the special environment of the microdroplet surface, which promotes water autoionization. We find that increasing the content of water and decreasing the droplet size improve the product yield of the Dakin and BV reactions, supporting the contention that the amount of H2O2 generated in aqueous microdroplets could induce the two reactions and the reactions occur at or near the air–water interface of the microdroplet surface.

Graphical abstract: Aqueous microdroplets containing only ketones or aldehydes undergo Dakin and Baeyer–Villiger reactions

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
09 Oct 2019
Accepted
12 Nov 2019
First published
12 Nov 2019
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2019,10, 10974-10978

Aqueous microdroplets containing only ketones or aldehydes undergo Dakin and Baeyer–Villiger reactions

D. Gao, F. Jin, J. K. Lee and R. N. Zare, Chem. Sci., 2019, 10, 10974 DOI: 10.1039/C9SC05112K

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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