A CONVENIENT PROCEDURE FOR REARRANGEMENT OF EPOXIDES BY USE OF DIMETHYLALUMINUM CATALYSTS

The modified dimethylaluminum reagents such as tris(dimethylaluminum)a ryloxide (3), dimethylaluminum 4-bromo-2,6-di-t-butylphenoxide (7), di methylaluminum 2,6-di-t-butyl-4-methylphenoxide (8), and dimethylalumi num 4-bromo-2,6-diphenylphenoxide (9) can be utilized as mild Lewis ac idic catalysts for the selective rearrangement of epoxides to carbonyl compounds under mild conditions. Among these, the catalyst 3 is highl y effective for epoxy silyl ether substrates, while 9 is useful for si mple epoxides.