A new environmentally benign catalytic process for the asymmetric synthesis of lactones:: Synthesis of the flavouring δ-decalactone molecule

The system Sn-Beta/hydrogen peroxide is applied to the Baeyer-Villiger oxidation of delfone to delta-decalactone, which is an industrial fragrance. The reaction is carried out without solvent and with a substrate/catalyst ratio > 200 (wt/wt). Starting with an enantiomerically enriched delfone it is shown that the rearrangement occurs with retention of configuration at the migrating asymmetric carbon atom, and enantiomerically enriched delta-decalactone is obtained as product. This process offers clear advantages over the actual industrial production that uses peracids as oxidants.