Oxidative conversion of alpha,alpha-disubstituted acetamides to corresponding one-carbon-shorter ketones using hypervalent iodine (lambda5) reagents in combination with tetraethylammonium bromide.

Alpha,alpha-disubstituted acetamides undergo oxidative dehomologation to give one-carbon-shorter ketones when reacted with a hypervalent iodine (lambda(5)) reagent in combination with tetraethylammonium bromide (TEAB) in various solvents. In further studies, one such combination of a hypervalent iodine (lambda(5)) reagent, o-iodoxybenzoic acid, and TEAB has been established as a new, mild, efficient, and general method for the transformation.