Copper-catalyzed aerobic oxidation of hydroxamic acids leads to a mild and versatile acylnitroso ene reaction.

A mild formation of transient acylnitroso intermediates using a copper chloride catalyst and 1 atm of air as the terminal oxidant is described. The mild reaction conditions enable the inter- and intramolecular acylnitroso ene reaction with a wide range of functionalized alkene partners, as well as the first asymmetric variant. Notably, this transformation provides a practical and operationally simple method for effecting allylic amidation using an environmentally benign oxidant and a readily abundant transition metal.