Dimethyl carbonate in the regio- and stereocontrolled opening of three-membered heterocyclic rings

In an attempt to replace harmful or carcinogenic solvents (such as dichloromethane, acetone, etc.) with non-harmful and greener ones, the possibility of performing four already developed ring-opening methodologies in a more eco-friendly media, such as DMC, has been investigated. The results show that the usual employed solvents (CH2Cl2, Et2O, CH3CN, etc.) can be easily replaced by DMC: not only the stereo- and regioselectivity is conserved, but also the work-up is simplified to a filtration, therefore reducing considerably the amount of solvents employed in the processes, and all the reactions are performed at room temperature, even the ones previously reported at low temperatures.