One-pot Selective Dihydroxylation of Limonene Combining Metal and Enzyme Catalysis

A one-pot sequential epoxidation-hydrolysis reaction was developed by a combination of heterogeneous chemical and enzymatic catalysis, resulting in the selective dihydroxylation of (+)- and (-)-limonene. Highly enantioenriched 1,2-diols were obtained with good overall yields by applying a titanium-grafted silica catalyst and the enzyme limonene 1,2-epoxide hydrolase, with no need to purify the reaction intermediate or to tune the reaction conditions to the enzymatic step.