A PIDA-promoted cross-dehydrogenative coupling reaction between N-hydroxyphthalimide (NHPI) and aryl ketones for efficient synthesis of N-alkoxyphthalimide products in moderate to good yields has been described. This methodology is distinguished by catalyst-free conditions, readily available starting materials, wide substrate scope and operational simplicity. In addition, a gram-scale reaction and synthetic transformation of the product into synthetically useful intermediates has been demonstrated.
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