Palladium Catalyzed Cascade Azidation / Carbonylation of Aryl Halides with Sodium Azide for the Synthesis of Amides.

Amide synthesis is one of the most important transformations in organic chemistry due to their ubiquitous presence in our daily life. In this communication, a palladium catalyzed cascade azidation / carbonylation of aryl halides for the synthesis of amides was developed. Both iodo- and bromobenzene derivatives were transformed to the corresponding amides using PdCl 2 / xantphos as the catalyst system and sodium azide as the nitrogen-source. The reaction proceeds via a cascade azidation / carbonylation process. A range of alkyl and halogen substituted amides were prepared in moderate to good yields.