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Sharpless epoxidation is a chemical reaction of an allylic alcohol with t-butylperoxide and titanium tetraisopropylate to form an epoxide. To form chiral products it is possible to add diethyltartrates.
Epoxides can be easily converted into dialcohols, aminoalcohols or ethers, so formation of chiral epoxides is a very important step in the synthesis of natural products.
K. Barry Sharpless shared the Nobel prize in 2001 with William S. Knowles and Ryoji Noyori for his work on asymmetric oxidations.
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