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

Abstract

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.