Broadening the scope of epoxide ring opening reactions with zirconocene

Epoxide, a cyclic ether, can be used to obtain important alcohols, pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and functional polymers. This transformation is facilitated by the reductive ring opening of epoxide. Traditionally, the reaction has been catalyzed using titanocene. However, in this case, the products are predominantly obtained via more stable radicals. Now, chemists turn the tables and broaden the scope of this reaction using zirconocene as a novel catalyst under visible light irradiation.

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