Copper-catalyzed rearrangement of vinyl oxiranes

A novel copper-catalyzed vinyl oxirane ring expansion protocol has been developed. A wide range of vinyl oxiranes can be rearranged to 2,5-dihydrofurans in excellent yields in the presence of electrophilic copper(II) acetylacetonate catalysts. Regioisomeric vinyl oxiranes can be converted to a single dihydrofuran product using these conditions. This method uses low catalyst loadings (0.5-5 mol %), has good tolerance of substitution patterns, and can be done in the absence of solvent.