Oxidation of β-Ketoamides: The Synthesis of Vicinal Tricarbonyl Amides.

A facile and direct oxidative reaction for the synthesis of vicinal tricarbonyl amides in moderate to excellent yields (53-88%) was developed starting from readily available β-ketoamides in the presence of phenyliodine(III) bis(trifluoroacetate). The resulting products possess significant synthetic potential, making this approach a valuable addition to the group of traditional methods already available for the preparation of these molecules.