What a difference the solvent makes! Unlike in conventional solvents, nonstrained ketones such as cyclohexanone react smoothly with hydrogen peroxide in 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-propanol (HFIP) to give lactones. The reaction proceeds via an isolatable spiro-bisperoxide, which undergoes a highly exothermic acid-catalyzed rearrangement to two equivalents of lactone (see Equation and IR thermogram).
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Berkessel et al. (2002) studied this question.