213. The reductive Conversion of Some Cyclic and Acyclic vic-Epoxides to Alcohols by Means of Lithium Aluminium Hydride/Aluminium Trichloride

Article abstract of DOI:10.1002/hlca.19850680727

Unsubstituted medium-ring 1,2-epoxycycloalkanes and certain vic-epoxyalkanes are reduced to the corresponding alcohols very slowly when LiAlH4 alone is used as reducing agent.However, the combination of LiAlH4 and AlCl3, in a 2:1 molar ratio (with respect to 1 mol-equiv. of epoxide) used in refluxing Et2O, greatly enhances these reductions, rendering them of interest for practical purposes.