Palladium- and light-enhanced ring-opening of oxiranes by copper chloride

Article abstract of DOI:10.1016/0022-328X(92)80158-T

The yields of chlorohydrins formed by cleavage of epoxides by CuCl2 is increased in the presence of small amounts of PdCl2(MeCN)2.The conversion drops dramatically on carrying out the reaction in the dark.The regiochemistry of the ring-opening is sensitive to the nature of the substituents.