Oxirene elimination reaction

Another kind of elimination reaction which could in principle form oxirenes is -elimination. No systematic study of simple p-eUmination of halooxiranes seems... 

Pig. 3.9 Elimination reactions on phenol derivatives give products which seem to arise from oxo carbenes, but the carbenes do not appear to equilibrate through oxirenes... 

After the initial claim of the synthesis of an oxirene (by the oxidation of propyne Section 5.05.6.3.1) this system reappeared with the claim 31LA(490)20l) that 2-chloro-l,2-diphenyl-ethanone (110) reacted with sodium methoxide to give diphenyloxirene (111), but it was later shown (52JA2082) that the product was the prosaic methoxy ketone (112 Scheme 97) (the formation of 111 from 110 would be an a-elimination carbene-type reaction). Even with strong, nonnucleophilic bases, (110) failed to provide evidence of diphenyloxirene formation (64JA4866). 

Other routes to oxocarbenes are the a-elimination of bromine from a,a-dibromo ketones (73JA2708, 73JA5416), and the elimination of CO2 or COS from dioxolenones (vinylene carbonates) or their sulfur analogues. The former reaction has not been investigated with regard to oxirene involvement the latter is discussed in Section 5.05.6.3.5. The formation of an oxocarbene from a chlorooxirane was mentioned in Section 5.05.6.3.2. 

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