Base‐Mediated N ‐Acetylation of Anilines/Amines: Nitriles as a Surrogate of the Acetyl Group

Abstract A base‐mediated protocol has been established for the N ‐acetylation of anilines/amines at room temperature. Reaction utilizes acetonitrile as a solvent as well as a surrogate of the acetyl group. Apart from acetonitrile, trifluoroacetonitrile could also be utilized in the reaction. The advantages of the reactions are simple operation, transition‐metal‐free approach, short reaction time, high functional group tolerance, and gram‐scale synthesis, which show the reaction‘s utility. The developed strategy represents a valuable approach in synthetic organic chemistry.