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.