characteristic Lewis acid catalyst in the regio- and stereoselective rearrangement of epoxides to aldehydes. This Cr(TPP)OTf-catalyzed reaction is an operationally simple and especially convenient method for synthesizing optically active beta-siloxy aldehydes from 2,3-epoxy silyl ethers which are readily available in enantiomerically enriched forms by the Sharpless epoxidation of allylic alcohols followed
The isomerization of epoxides to allylicalcohols was developed via proton-accelerated Lewis acid catalysis. The addition of tBuOH as a proton source is the key to the efficient catalytic cycle. Trisubstituted epoxides, including enantioenriched derivatives, were selectively converted to secondary-allylic alcohols without loss of enantiopurity.