Generation of alkyl radicals from alkylsilyl peroxides and their applications to C-N or C-O bond formations

This article describes a novel method for the generation of alkyl radicals from alkylsilyl peroxides and their applications to the Cu-catalyzed mono-N-alkylation of amides or arylamines, and to the O-alkylation of carboxylic acids. The use of alkylsilyl peroxides as alkyl radical sources includes the following synthetic advantages: i) various alkylsilyl peroxides can be readily synthesized from the corresponding alcohols and be stored at bench, and ii) a variety of alkyl radicals can be generated efficiently under mild conditions.