An effective procedure for the synthesis of acid-sensitive epoxides: use of 1-methylimidazole as the additive on methyltrioxorhenium-catalyzed epoxidation of alkenes with hydrogen peroxide.

An effective method for suppression of ring opening and rearrangement of acid-sensitive epoxides during methyltrioxorhenium(MTO)-catalyzed epoxidation of alkenes with H(2)O(2) by using 1-methylimidazole as a co-additive has been found. The combined use of 3-methylpyrazole and 1-methylimidazole as the additives has been found to be an effective procedure that affords excellent yields of acid-sensitive epoxides for MTO-catalyzed epoxidation.