A Simple and Convenient Method for Epoxidation of Olefins without Metal Catalysts

Oxidation reactions of olefins to give epoxides are of major importance for organic synthesis. Nowadays, especially asymmetric epoxidation reactions are in the focus of methodological developments. However, the synthesis of racemic epoxides is still important on laboratory as well as industrial scales. A convenient method for the synthesis of epoxides is the oxidation of olefins with hydrogen peroxide or alkyl peroxides in the presence of transition metal complexes.