Amide Bond Formation through Iron-Catalyzed Oxidative Amidation of Tertiary Amines with Anhydrides

A general and efficient method for amide bond synthesis has been developed. The method allows for synthesis of tertiary amides from readily available tertiary amines and anhydrides in the presence of FeCl2 as catalyst and tert-butyl hydroperoxide in water (T-Hydro) as oxidant. Mechanistic studies indicated that the in situ-generated a-amino peroxide of tertiary amine and iminium ion act as key intermediates in this oxidative transformation.