We report the palladium­(II)-catalyzed transfer hydration of cyanohydrins to α-hydroxyamides by using carboxamides as water donors. This method enables selective hydration of various aldehyde- and ketone-derived cyanohydrins to afford α-mono- and α,α-disubstituted-α-hydroxyamides, respectively, under mild conditions (50 °C, 10 min). The direct conversion of fenofibrate, a drug bearing a benzophenone moiety, into a functionalized α,α-diaryl-α-hydroxyamide was achieved by means of a hydrocyanation–transfer hydration sequence. Preliminary kinetic studies and the synthesis of a site-specifically 18O-labeled α-hydroxyamide demonstrated the carbonyl oxygen transfer from the carboxamide reagent into the α-hydroxyamide product.

Palladium-catalyzed dehydration of primary amides to nitriles efficiently proceeds under mild, aqueous conditions via the use of dichloroacetonitrile as a water acceptor. A key to the design of this transfer dehydration catalysis is the identification of an efficient water acceptor, dichloroacetonitrile, that preferentially reacts with amides over other polar functional groups with the aid of the Pd catalyst and makes the desired scheme exergonic, thereby driving the dehydration.

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We present a robust method for double transfer hydration of dinitriles to afford diamides. The transfer hydration of 1,n-dinitriles (n = 1–6) proceeds smoothly in the presence of a palladium(II) catalyst with acetamide as a water donor, affording the corresponding diamides in moderate to high yields, without involving significant side reactions such as monohydration or cyclization. The equilibrium was shifted in the forward direction by removing coproduced acetonitrile under reduced pressure.