Low Environmental Load Process for the Beckmann Rearrangement of Cycloalkanone Oximes by Brønsted Acid Catalyst with Cobalt Salts

Beckmann rearrangements of oximes to lactams often require harsh conditions and/or the use of large amounts of acid catalyst. To reduce the amount of Bronsted acid required, and to avoid the formation of a large amount of undesirable byproducts under mild reaction conditions, a low environmental load process was developed. Beckmann rearrangements of cyclohexanone oxime and cyclooctanone oxime were achieved using a combination of a Bronsted acid and cobalt tetra-fluoroborate hexahydrate. Various Bronsted acid catalysts (10 - 20 mol%) were used to obtain the corresponding lactams in high yields at 80℃.