Catalytic N-methyl amidation of carboxylic acids under cooperative conditions

Amide is a fundamental group that is present in molecular structures of all domains of organic chemistry and the construction of this motif with high atom economy is the focus of the current research. Specifically, N-methyl amides are valuable building blocks in natural products and pharmaceutical science. Due to the volatile nature of methyl amine, the generation of N-methyl amides using simple acids with high atom economy is rare. Herein, we disclose an atom economic protocol to prepare this valuable motif under DABCO/Fe₃O₄ cooperative catalysis. This protocol is operationally simple and compatible with a range of aliphatic and (hetero)aromatic acids with very good yields (60-99%). Moreover, the Fe₃O₄ can be easily recovered and high efficiency is maintained for up to ten cycles.