Reactions of Thioamides with Metal Carboxylates in Organic Media.

Abstract Reactions of thioamides with metal carboxylates in organic solvents are described. These processes enable the selective preparation of nitriles, imides or amides depending on the substitution pattern of the starting material. Mechanistic hypotheses supported by experimental evidences, including the unequivocal synthesis of bis(thioacetanilide)mercury(II) as a key reaction intermediate, are also proposed.