Effective Synthesis of N-Arylformamide from α-Halo-N-arylacetamides

A convenient synthetic method for N-arylformamide derivatives was successfully developed by reacting α-iodo-N-arylacetamides with formamide. This method was applicable to α-iodo-N-arylacetamide substrates bearing electron-donating or electron-withdrawing groups, N-(benzo[d][1,3]dioxol-5-yl)-2-iodoacetamide, 2-iodo-N-(pyridin-2-yl)acetamide, and 2-iodo-N-(naphthalen-4-yl)acetamide to give the corresponding N-arylformamides in moderate to excellent yields (65–94%). A plausible mechanism was proposed to account for the new transformation.