One-pot synthesis of α,β-epoxy ketones by palladium-catalyzed epoxidation–oxidation of terminal allylic alcohols

Described herein is a one-pot synthesis of α,β-epoxy ketones using a palladium-catalyzed epoxidation–oxidation sequence. Functionalized terminal allylic alcohols are treated with m-CPBA under mild reaction conditions to obtain the α,β-epoxy ketones. The main benefit of this approach is that the epoxidation of the terminal double bond and the oxidation of the secondary alcohol occured in the same reaction under mild reactions and both electron-donating and electron-withdrawing functionalities are tolerated in the reaction sequence.