Regioselective ring opening of epoxides with thiols under solvent free and mild conditions using heterogeneous catalyst

A highly effective and mild protocol for ring opening of 1–2 epoxides with thiols in the presence of catalytic amount of HBF4–SiO2 under solvent-free conditions is developed. A variety of β-hydroxy sulfides were obtained in high yields with excellent regioselectivity in short reaction times using heterogeneous catalyst for the first time.