A catalytic version of hypervalent aryl-λ3-iodane-induced Hofmann rearrangement of primary carboxamides: iodobenzene as an organocatalyst and m-chloroperbenzoic acid as a terminal oxidant

The first catalytic version of hypervalent aryl-lambda(3)-iodane-induced Hofmann rearrangement of primary carboxamides, which probably involves in situ generation of a tetracoordinated bis(aqua)(hydroxy)phenyl-lambda(3)-iodane complex as an active oxidant from a catalytic amount of iodobenzene by the reaction with m-chloroperbenzoic acid in the presence of HBF4 in dichloromethane-water under mild conditions, was developed.