Unexpected cleavage of crown ether in the reaction of methyloxirane with K-,K+(15-crown-5)(2)

Cleavage of oxirane and crown ether rings occurs when the supramolecular co mplex K-,K+(15-crown-5)(2) reacts with methyloxirane in tetrahydrofuran sol ution. Potassium isopropoxide and potassium tetraethylene glycoxide vinyl e ther are the main products of the reaction. The cleavage of 15-crown-5 is o bserved also in the reaction of the metal complex with methyl iodide. That means that the crown ether acts both as an activator and as a reagent in th ese processes. The solvent was inert in the studied systems.