Unexpected and expeditious entry into trifluoromethyl aziridines from substituted beta-dicarbonyl compounds

Reaction: see text]. One-pot aziridinations were obtained starting from substituted 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl beta-dicarbonyl compounds with nosyloxycarbamates in the presence of an excess of CaO as base. The unexpected ring closure reaction takes place at room temperature, leading to the N-protected alpha-trifluoromethyl aziridines with good yields. The reaction pathway seems to be influenced by the choice of the base.