The invention belongs to the technical field of
organic synthesis, and particularly discloses a synthesis method of isopinopinone, which comprises the following steps: (1) by taking alpha-
pinene as a
raw material, hydroborating by using a
borane tetrahydrofuran complex, and oxidizing the
hydroboration product by using a
sodium hydroxide solution and
hydrogen peroxide to obtain isopinopinol; (2) performing high-temperature
dehydrogenation on the isopinopinol by taking Cu / Ni-Al-SBA-15 as a catalyst to obtain a product, namely isopinopinone; the total loading capacity of Cu and Ni in the Cu / Ni-Al-SBA-15 is 9-12%, the
molar ratio of Cu to Ni is (8-10): 1, and the
molar ratio of Si to Al in the carrier Al-SBA-15 is (9-11): 1. The conversion rate and the yield of the two-step reaction are relatively high, the
dehydrogenation catalyst in the second step can be recycled for more than three times through
filtration, and compared with a traditional
copper-
silicon catalyst, the mesoporous weak-acid
molecular sieve serving as a carrier can effectively improve the product selectivity. The purity of the isopinopinone obtained through
filtration and rectification can reach 99% or above, the cost can be effectively reduced, and industrial production can be achieved.