Light-enabled synthesis of anhydrides and amides

Recently, we have demonstrated that the photogeneration of Vilsmeier-Haack reagents is possible using only dimethylformamide (DMF) and tetrabromomethane (CBr4) in the bromination of alcohols. Extending these findings to carboxylic acid substrates has produced a mild and facile approach to the in situ formation of symmetric anhydrides, which were conveniently converted to amide derivatives in a one-pot process. The efficient protocols discussed herein are marked by use of UVA LEDs (365 nm), which have reduced the reaction times and come with a low setup cost.