Oxidative amidation of aldehydes and alcohols with primary amines catalyzed by KI-TBHP

Oxidative amidation of aldehydes and alcohols with amines to afford the corresponding amides in excellent yields and ee values over 98 % is achieved by using a catalytic amount of KI in combination with TBHP as the external oxidant. This method avoids the use of expensive and/or air-sensitive reagents. ((C) Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2008).