Metal-Free Tandem Oxidative Aryl Migration and C–C Bond Cleavage: Synthesis of α‑Ketoamides and Esters from Acrylic Derivatives

A novel tandem metal-free oxidative aryl migration/C–C bond-cleavage reaction, mediated by hypervalent iodine reagent, has been discovered. The presented transformation provided straightforward access to important α-ketoamide and α-ketoester derivatives from readily available acrylic derivatives via a concerted process of 1,2-aryl shift concomitant with C–C bond cleavage