Ag2O-Mediated Intramolecular Oxidative Coupling of Acetoacetanilides for the Synthesis of 3-Acetyloxindoles

The intramolecular oxidative Csp(2)-Csp(3) coupling of N-substituted acetoacetanilides was achieved by using Ag2O as the oxidant. The reaction constitutes a convenient approach toward 3-acetyloxindoles from unfunctionalized acetoacetanilides.