Copper-Catalyzed Carbonylative Synthesis of Aliphatic Amides from Alkanes and Primary Amines via C(sp3)-H Bond Activation

Amides are important intermediates and building blocks in organic synthesis. Among the known preparation procedures, aminocarbonylation is an interesting and powerful tool. However, most of the studies were focused on noble metal-catalyzed synthesis of aromatic amides. Herein, we describe an attractive copper-catalyzed synthesis of aliphatic amides from alkanes and amines. A variety of amides were prepared in good yields by carbonylation of the C-(sp3)-H bond of alkanes with different amines. Good functional groups tolerance can be observed.