What about simply heating 1,4-BDO to 200°C (i.e. reflux) for 15 hours over a CuO catalyst to yield 80% GBL which is separated by distillation?
Journal; Berthon, Bruno; Forestiere, Alain; Leleu, Gerard; Sillion, Bernard; TELEAY; Tetrahedron Lett.; FR; 22; 41; 1981; 4073-4076 https://www.thevespiary.org/rhodium/Rhodium/pdf/bd2gbl.cuo.pdf (https://www.thevespiary.org/rhodium/Rhodium/pdf/bd2gbl.cuo.pdf)
...Or maybe with hypochlorite - although it seems to evolve a lot of nasty gas (Cl2, HCl)...
McDonald C.E., Nice L.E., Shaw A.W., Nestor N.B., Calcium hypochlorite-mediated oxidation of primary alcohols to methyl esters,
Tetrahedron Lett., 34 (17) , (1993) 2741–2744
https://www.thevespiary.org/rhodium/Rhodium/pdf/alcohols2methyl-esters.hypochlorite.pdf (https://www.thevespiary.org/rhodium/Rhodium/pdf/alcohols2methyl-esters.hypochlorite.pdf)
(and with NaOCl too) https://www.thevespiary.org/rhodium/Rhodium/pdf/bd2gbl.pdf (https://www.thevespiary.org/rhodium/Rhodium/pdf/bd2gbl.pdf)
Or just go ahead and prepare your wierd, dirty "chromite catalysts" as usual... ;D
(I wonder if some bees refrain from visiting rhodium's archive because they're "hive addicts" - does the title imply you guys are only searching at the hive, nowhere else? :) )
Greetz A
BTW I checked the archives before I suggested using CuO...
https://www.thevespiary.org/rhodium/Rhodium/pdf/bd2gbl.cuo.pdf (https://www.thevespiary.org/rhodium/Rhodium/pdf/bd2gbl.cuo.pdf)
"Abstract: Linear primary alcohols with at least 7 carbon atoms are quite quantitatively transformed in esters, by CuO, at temperatures >170°C, without air in liquid phase. Preponderant influence of Carbon 2 is evidenced. In the same conditions lactones are obtained from diols, and benzylic alcohols undergoes, by hydride transfer, a disproportionation into toluene, benzaldehyde and water."
Really, what's wrong with this article? I thought every scientific paper you provide us with could - at least to some extent - be taken for being reliable?
A