Electrodimerization of N-Alkoxyamides for Zinc(II) Catalyzed Phenolic Ester Synthesis under Mild Reaction Conditions

An electrochemical On-Off method for phenolic ester synthesis from N-alkoxyamides has been reported. This one-pot protocol begins with rapid and selective electrodimerization of the amide using n-Bu4NI (TBAI) as an electrocatalyst. The reaction proceeds further in the absence of current via Zn catalyzed C-N bond activation of the amide dimer followed by its coupling with phenol to form the ester. The present methodology is ligand-free and takes place under mild reaction conditions. This transformation incorporates a wide variety of phenols and amide substrates leading to the formation of functionalized esters highlighting its versatility.