Studies on the reaction of aziridines with nitriles and carbonyls: Synthesis of imidazolines and oxazolidines

The reaction of N-tosylaziridines with nitriles and carbonyls to produce imidazolines and oxazolidines is studied in the presence of a variety of Lewis acids. The results have shown that the reaction can proceed through either 2-aryl-N-sulfonylaziridines ([S.sub.N]1) or alkyl-N-tosylazidines ([S.sub.N]2) fashion.