Visible Light-Driven Efficient Synthesis of Amides from Alcohols using Cu-N-TiO2 Heterogeneous Photocatalyst

Amides were synthesized from alcohols and amines in high yields using an in situ generated active ester of N-hydroxyimide with our developed Cu-N-TiO2 catalyst at room temperature using oxygen as a sole oxidant under visible light. The catalyst can be easily prepared, robust, and recycled four times without a considerable change in catalytic activity. This developed protocol applies to a wide substrate scope and has good functional group tolerance. The application of this amidation reaction has been successfully demonstrated for the synthesis of moclobemide, an antidepressant drug, and an analog of the itopride drug on a gram scale.