Although the lithium base-induced β-elimination of epoxides to allylic alcohols is a well-known reaction, α-lithiation has also been described many times. The resulting lithiated epoxides, first postulated as intermediates by Cope in 1951, have been invoked in a wide range of reactions, with their carbenoid properties allowing for very different reactivities. This review covers the recent advances (˜1996 - mid 2002) in the rich chemistry of these main-group metal carbenoids, especially their generation by enantioselective α-deprotonation.
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Hodgson et al. (2002) studied this question.