Palladium-catalyzed C(carbonyl)-C bond cleavage of amides: a facile access to phenylcarbamate derivatives with alcohols.

A sulfur-containing auxiliary enabled palladium-catalyzed C(carbonyl)-C bond activation of amides was reported to form phenylcarbamate derivatives with alcohols. Both alkyl and benzyl alcohols could be employed well with yields up to 85%. Derivations from phenylcarbamates to ureas and thiocarbamates illustrated the potential applications of this sequential C-C cleavage/C-O coupling reaction.