A novel and temperature-controlled oxidation of α-hydroxyamides in the presence of IBX is described. The divergent one-pot synthesis of isatins and α-formyl amides was achieved in good to excellent yields under metal-free conditions. And these two mild methods can tolerate a variety of functional groups, and are operationally simple.
A novel, efficient, and environmentally friendly method was developed for converting -hydroxy N-arylamides into isatins (1H-indole-2,3-diones) by using hydrogen peroxide as oxidant. The reactions proceeded smoothly under metal-free conditions and generated the corresponding products in good to excellent yields. This method has advantages of a broad substrate scope and simple operations.