Rhodium-Catalyzed Intermolecular Amidation of Arenes with Sulfonyl Azides via Chelation-Assisted C–H Bond Activation

We report the direct amidation of arene C–H bonds using sulfonyl azides as the amino source to release N2 as the single byproduct. The reaction is catalyzed by a cationic rhodium complex under external oxidant-free conditions in the atmospheric environment. A broad range of chelate group-containing arenes are selectively amidated with excellent functional group tolerance, thus opening a new avenue to practical intermolecular C–N bond formation.