Recent investigations have shown iron pentacarbonyl [Fe(CO)5] to be a useful reagent for effecting a variety of synthetic transformations.1 Non-polar solvents such as ethers have generally been employed for these reactions. In several cases, it has been demonstrated that reactions which do not take place, or are sluggish in such solvents, can readily occur by the use of dipolar aprotic solvents. For example, treatment of sulfonyl chlorides with Fe(CO)5 in N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAC) or tetramethylurea (TMU) affords thiosulfonates in good yields (use of dioxane or di-n-butyl ether as the solvent gave 10;~ product yields).* This comnunication describes the facile deoxyqenation of npoxides by Fe(CO)5 under neutral conditions. Reaction of trans-stilbene oxide (Table 1, entry 1) with an equimolar amount of Fe(C0)5 in TMU for 2.25 hr. at 145'C affords trans-stilbene in 56% yield and cis-stilbene in 22% yield -(DMAC can also be used). Use of refluxing tetrahydrofuran (2.5 hr.) as the reaction medium gave recovered starting material. The reaction in TMU is not catalytic in the metal carbonyl. trans-Stilbene does not react at 145' in TMU, either in the presence or absence of Fe(CO)5. Good yields of olefins were realized by treatment of a variety of epoxides with Fe(CO)5 for 2.0 -2.5 hr. (Table 1, entries 2-6). Note that particularly high yields resulted if the olefin formed was a conjugated one. The reaction can tolerate a variety of functional groups including ketone, ester, hydroxyl, sulfonyl and olefin.