A mild and efficient procedure for the oxidation of epoxides and aziridines using cerium(IV) ammonium nitrate and NBS

The CAN and NBS combination has been used for the first time for the synthesis of versatile alpha-hydroxy ketones and alpha-amino ketones from oxiranes/aziridines, respectively, in excellent yields. This method is a direct, one-pot, synthesis under mild conditions using acetonitrile-water (9:1) as solvent. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.