Research progress on the aerobic synthesis of ε-caprolactam

Lactones are widely applied in the fields of pharmacy and polymer.Among them, ε-caprolactam is the monomer of biodegradable poly-caprolactone and also usually used as the modifier of polyester, which almost owns the capacity of 100,000 ton/year.Its demand would grow rapidly with the increasingly strict requirement in environmental protection.In this review, the progress on the aerobic synthesis of caprolactone and the further study on the oxidant modification and new path were mainly discussed.Our group focused on the one-pot transformation of cyclohexanone K/A oil and cyclohexane to ε-caprolactam, respectively, which would be more efficient and environmentally friendly methods and own potential prospect of the industrial application.