A one-pot procedure
for the oxidative amidation of aldehydes via
the in situ generation of reactive nitrile imine
(NI) intermediates has been developed. Distinct from our progenitor
processes, mechanistic and control experiments revealed that the NI
undergoes rapid oxidation to an acyl diazene species, which then facilitates N-acylation of an amine. A range of substrates have been
explored, including application in the synthesis of pharmaceutically
relevant compounds.