“On water” metal- and catalyst-free oxidative cross coupling-amidation of amines to access imines and amides

A simple route toward the selective synthesis of imines and amides through oxidative cross coupling-oxidative amidation of amines using widely available NaOCl is presented. Under this approach, unprecedented one-pot synthesis of symmetrical and unsymmetrical secondary amides from primary amines as a single starting material is reported. This metal-free and catalyst-free protocol relies upon the “on water” acceleration to obtain the desired products in high yields. An additive-based robustness screen was conducted to demonstrate the high reaction tolerance to several chemical motifs. Furthermore, mechanistic studies supported a proposed pathway for the targeted oxidation products.