Kinetic separation of trans-limonene oxide and trans-carvomenthene oxide was achieved in high yield by selective ring opening of their cis-epoxides in the presence of InCl3 catalyst in water. Catalytic activity of InCl3 was conserved up to 10 cycles. Nucleophilic addition of methanol in presence of InCl3 was also selective as cis-epoxides preferentially reacted leaving behind trans-epoxides, which were separated by fractional distillation.
