Epoxide-Mediated Stevens Rearrangements of α-Amino-Acid-Derived Tertiary Allylic, Propargylic, and Benzylic Amines: Convenient Access to Polysubstituted Morpholin-2-ones

A new strategy has been established for the synthesis of polysubstituted morpholin-2-ones through Stevens rearrangements of tertiary amines via in situ activation with epoxides. A range of α-amino acid-derived tertiary allylic, propargylic, and benzylic amines reacted with epoxides in the presence of zinc halide catalysts to afford structurally diverse allyl-, allenyl-, and benzyl-substituted morpholin-2-ones, respectively, in moderate-to-good yields with high regioselectivity. The process involves [2,3]- and [1,2]-Stevens rearrangements of quaternary ammonium ylide intermediates and constitutes a very convenient method to prepare polysubstituted morpholin-2-ones through tandem formation of C-N, C-O, and C-C bonds. Moreover, replacing epoxides with aziridines permitted the synthesis of polysubstituted piperazin-2-ones.