Ring opening of epoxides and aziridines has readily been carried out at room temperature using poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG-400) as the efficient reaction medium to form the corresponding 2-azido alcohols and 2-azido amines, respectively, in excellent yields (95-99%) within 30-45 minutes and with high regio- and streoselectivity.
epoxide - aziridine - PEG-400 - 2-azido alcohol - 2-azido amine