Direct Conversion of Carboxylic Acids to Various Nitrogen-Containing Compounds in the One-Pot Exploiting Curtius Rearrangement

Herein we report, a single-pot multistep conversion of inactivated carboxylic acids to various N-containing compounds using a common synthetic methodology. The developed methodology rendered the use of carboxylic acids as a direct surrogate of primary amines, for the synthesis of primary ureas, secondary/tertiary ureas, O/S-carbamates, benzoyl ureas, amides, and N-formyls, exploiting the Curtius reaction. This approach has a potential to provide a diversified library of N-containing compounds, starting from a single carboxylic acid, based on the selection of the nucleophile.