Mild oxidative one-carbon homologation of aldehyde to amide

One-carbon homologation of aldehyde into amide is realized in one-pot by its reaction with potassium alpha-p-methoxyphenyl-alpha-isocyano acetic acid (1c) and hydrochloride salt of dimethylamine (3a) in toluene at room temperature followed by acidic workup. In this multicomponent reaction, 1c served as donor of the CONH2 function to aldehyde, while the dimethylamine acted as a shuttle molecule to initiate/terminate the sequence and to mediate the internal redox process of one of the three-component adducts. Ready accessibility, nominal cost of the reagents, and mild conditions are attractive features of the present method.