Triethyl Phosphite/Benzoyl Peroxide Mediated Reductive Dealkylation of O‐Benzoylhydroxylamines: A Cascade Synthesis of Secondary Amides

A new triethyl phosphite/benzoyl peroxide (BPO) mediated system has been developed for the synthesis of secondary amides with good to excellent yields in a single step. This unprecedented cascade process involves sequential reduction of N–O bond and benzoylation followed by dealkylation of N–C bond of O‐benzoylhydroxylamines (O‐BHA). The methodology is versatile as it tolerates a variety of aromatic and aliphatic O‐BHA as substrates to access secondary amides. An efficient and operationally simple protocol for the synthesis of 2° amides via reductive benzoylation dealkylation of O‐benzoylhydroxylamines (O‐BHA), by using triethyl phosphite as a reducing agent and benzoyl peroxide as an oxidizing agent is described.