Davis oxidation (original) (raw)

In organic chemistry, the Davis oxidation or Davis' oxaziridine oxidation refers to oxidations involving the use of the Davis reagent (2-(phenylsulfonyl)-3-phenyloxaziridine) or other similar oxaziridine reagents. This reaction mainly refers to the generation of α-hydroxy carbonyl compounds (acyloins) from ketones or esters. The reaction is carried out in a basic environment to generate the corresponding enolate from the ketone or ester. This reaction has been shown to work for amides.