Microwave-assisted isomerizations of epoxides to allylic alcohols

The present work reports a study on the isomerization reactions of several alkyl epoxides to the corresponding allylic alcohols or bicyclic alcohols under microwave irradiation. The reaction occurred in the presence of lithium diisopropylamide as a base and different experimental conditions in terms of solvent, amount of the base, times and temperatures. The traditional heating with an oil-bath and the use of alternative organometallic bases, as the Lochmann-Schlosser bases, have been furthermore compared with the microwave heating. The results obtained show that the use of microwave irradiations on promoting the isomerization of epoxides gives access to a series of synthetically useful products, among which allylic alcohols and bicyclic alcohols, depending on the starting substrate.