Katsutaka Yasue

Selective isomerization of 1,2-epoxyalkanes to aldehydes with lithium dialkylamides

Reaction of a variety of 1,2-epoxyalkanes with 2.5 equiv. of bulky metal amide—lithium 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidide—affords the corresponding aldehydes exclusively in high yields; this is the first example of base-promoted isomerization of monosubstituted epoxides to aldehydes.

Highly regioselective allylation of imines with allylic barium reagents

Aldimines are transformed into homoallylic amines by treatment with allylic barium reagents in which both the α- and γ-adducts are selectively obtained by simply changing the reaction temperature.