Electronically Mediated Selectivity in Ring Opening of 1-Azirines. The 3-X Mode: Convenient Route to 3-Oxazolines

The mild base-promoted reaction of methyl 2-phenyl-1-azirine-3-acetate (1) with aldehydes and acetone provides a new and simple route to the 3-oxazolines 5, which are formed in good yields by the electrophilic trapping of an imino anion produced by C-N bond cleavage in the 1-azirine enolate intermediate 6. Chloranil oxidation of 5 containing an aromatic substituent at C-2 affords oxazoles 7, while reaction of 5 containing an aliphatic group at C-2 produces 5-methylene-3-oxazolines 8 and 5-spiro-2-oxazolines 9 in addition to 7.