Silver-promoted decarboxylative amidation of α-keto acids with amines.

A general and effective method for the synthesis of amides through decarboxylative amidation of α-keto acids with amines has been developed. The reaction proceeded smoothly to afford the corresponding amide products in good yield under air and shows excellent functional group tolerance. In addition, the protocol can be further applied in the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds like benzimidazoles.