Combined Catalytic System of Scandium Triflate and Boronic Ester for Amide Bond Cleavage

Abstract We have found that the combination of scandium with boronic ester enables the cleavage of amide bonds. Primary amides were converted to the corresponding esters in the presence of catalytic amounts of scandium triflate and boronic ester under mild and neutral conditions. This unique catalytic system can be applied to the deprotection of acetylaniline derivatives. In addition, control NMR experiments were carried out to examine the effect of the boronic esters. magnified image