Selective oxidation of optically active sec,sec-1,2-diols by dioxiranes. A practical method for the synthesis of homochiral .alpha.-hydroxy ketones in high optical purity

By employing either dimethyldioxirane or its trifluoromethyl analog, the direct, high-yield conversion of one cyclic and three open chain optically sec,sec-1,2-diols to the corresponding α-hydroxy ketones in high optical yield has been achieved