Ring expansions of vinyloxiranes, -thiiranes, and -aziridines: synthetic approaches, challenges, and catalytic success stories.

Ring expansion reactions of strained vinylic heterocyclic substrates have attracted the attention of the synthetic community for decades. Strategic manipulations of these organic architectures enable access to many useful synthetic intermediates. This paper highlights various methods for the ring expansion of vinyloxiranes, -thiiranes, and -aziridines described in the literature from 1964 to 2013.