Transition metal-catalyzed C-H activation is one of the most important areas in organic synthesis. Directed C-H activation can obviate the prefunctionalization of substrate, therefore providing a highly efficient and concise strategy for CC formation. The cross-coupling of transition metal-activated C-H bond with organic electrophilic reagents has been proven effective for construction of various CC bonds. Meanwhile, the oxidative coupling between the corresponding intermediates with organometallic reagents has become the focus for chemists due to their high reactivity, and notable achievements have been made in recent years. Here the oxidative couplings of C-H bond and organometallic reagents have been discussed and summarized according to the hybridization of substrate and organometallic reagents.

A one-pot synthetic protocol of α-ketoamides from alkene or alkyne using iodine as catalyst and tert-butyl hydroperoxide as oxidant is reported. The protocol has the advantages of good atomic economy, mild reaction condition, high yielding, and avoiding using heavy metal catalyst, which has solved the drawbacks of harsh condition, poor availability of starting materials, and low yielding in previous α-ketoamides systhesis. α-Ketoamides has potential applications in bioactive molecule and drug synthesis.