---
title: "Baeyer–Villiger oxidation Template – Chemistry Diagram | MolDraw"
url: https://www.moldraw.com/templates/baeyer-villiger-oxidation/
description: "Baeyer–Villiger oxidation template: Peracetic acid adds to acetophenone (Criegee intermediate); the phenyl group, the better migrating group, moves to oxygen…"
lang: en
publisher: Scidart Academy
generated: 2026-10-28
---
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# Baeyer–Villiger oxidation template

![Baeyer–Villiger oxidation template: Peracetic acid adds to acetophenone (Criegee intermediate); the phenyl group, the better migrating group, moves to oxygen to give phenyl acetate.](https://www.moldraw.com/templates/baeyer-villiger-oxidation.webp)

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Peracetic acid adds to acetophenone (Criegee intermediate); the phenyl group, the better migrating group, moves to oxygen to give phenyl acetate.

## Mechanism step by step

A peroxyacid inserts an oxygen next to the carbonyl: ketone → ester

1. **Addition** – The peroxyacid OH attacks the carbonyl carbon
2. **Proton transfer** – The Criegee intermediate
3. **Migration (slow)** – Phenyl moves to O as acetate leaves
4. **Deprotonation** – Acetate takes the proton

## Key points

- Migratory aptitude: tertiary alkyl > secondary alkyl ≈ phenyl > primary alkyl > methyl.
- The migrating group keeps its configuration.
- Cyclic ketones give lactones (cyclohexanone → ε-caprolactone).
- Aldehydes give carboxylic acids (H migrates).

Drawn with 133 atoms, 14 arrows, 9 shapes – every one editable in MolDraw.

## Sources

- [Baeyer & Villiger, Ber. Dtsch. Chem. Ges. 1899, 32, 3625](https://doi.org/10.1002/cber.189903203151) Original paper
- [Kürti & Czakó, Strategic Applications of Named Reactions in Organic Synthesis, Elsevier 2005](https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9780124297852) Textbook
- [Clayden, Greeves & Warren, Organic Chemistry, 2nd ed., OUP 2012](https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9780199270293) Textbook

## How to use this template

1. Press **Edit in MolDraw**. The template opens on the canvas of the free MolDraw editor.
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## Frequently asked questions

### Is the Baeyer–Villiger oxidation template free?

You can preview the Baeyer–Villiger oxidation template here and open and edit it in MolDraw for free. Downloading or exporting it is part of MolDraw Pro, together with the other premium templates.

### Can I edit the Baeyer–Villiger oxidation template?

Yes. It opens as an ordinary MolDraw drawing, so every structure, arrow, label and colour can be changed, and you can add your own content around it.

### Is the chemistry checked?

Every structure is checked with RDKit and every curly arrow passes MolDraw’s electron-flow audit. The sources used are listed on this page.

### Which name reactions are included?

Over seventy, covering the reactions most often asked in school-leaving exams (A-level, IB, CBSE, JEE and NEET) and first-year university courses, including condensations, rearrangements, oxidations, reductions and aromatic substitutions.

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