Asymmetric epoxy cyclohexenyl sulfones: Readily accessible progenitors of stereodefined six-carbon arrays

[GRAPHICS] Enantiopure epoxy vinyl sulfones serve as highly effective substrates for a variety of stereo- and regiospecific oxidation and nucleophilic functional ization reactions. These materials can be easily transformed to cyclic and acyclic six carbon segments. Nucleophilic epoxidation of 3a,b followed by p alladium[0] catalysis enables access to differentially protected arene diol s 21 and 22.