Iridium-catalyzed ortho-selective carbon-hydrogen amidation of benzamides with sulfonyl azides in ionic liquid.

An efficient and convenient iridium(iii) catalyzed ortho-C-H bond amidation of weakly coordinating benzamides treated with readily available sulfonyl azides as the amino source has been described. In this transformation, ionic liquids represents an ideal reaction medium, giving rise to a broad range of amidation products under mild conditions in the open air. This protocol offers moderate to excellent chemical yields, exclusive regioselectivities, and good functional group tolerance.