Cobalt-catalysed C–H carbonylative cyclisation of aliphatic amides† †Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c6sc05581h Click here for additional data file

A cobalt-catalysed C–H carbonylation of aliphatic carboxamide derivatives is described, employing commercially available Co( ii )-salts in the presence of a silver oxidant. A cobalt-catalysed C–H carbonylation of aliphatic carboxamide derivatives is described, employing commercially available Co( ii )-salts in the presence of a silver oxidant. This operationally simple process utilises an atmospheric pressure of CO and generates a range of substituted succinimide products bearing diverse functional groups that can be successfully accessed via this methodology.