The ring-opening of functionalized epoxides with trimethylsilyl azide in the presence of a catalytic amount of Ti (Oi-Pr) 4 or Al (Oi-Pr) 3 is described. The reaction is stereospecific and highly regiospecific, leading generally to the formation of the carbon-azido bond on the less substituted carbon. The mechanism of this reaction is also discussed.
[Boningari, Thirupathi; Olmos, Andrea; Reddy, Benjaram M.; Sommer, Jean; Pale, Patrick European Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2010 , # 33 p. 6338 - 6347]