Epoxides

Epoxides are a class of cyclic ether compounds with three-atom rings which approximate an equilateral triangle, which make them strained and hence more highly reactive than other ethers. The fundamental structure of epoxides contains two carbon atoms of a hydrocarbon attached to an oxygen atom. Epoxides are electrophilic by virtue of the strained three-membered ring system; nucleophilic attack at carbon releases the ring strain.