Late‐Stage Dehydroxyazidation of Alcohols Promoted by Trifunctional Hypervalent Azido‐Iodine(III) Reagents

Abstract The development of convenient new methods for the synthesis of organic azides is highly desirable. Herein, we report a practical method for dehydroxyazidation of alcohols via an S N 2 pathway involving PPh 3 and trifunctional benziodazolone‐based hypervalent azido‐iodine(III) reagents, which function as an electrophilic center, an azido source, and a base. This mild, chemoselective method was used for late‐stage azidation of structurally complex alcohols, as well as for a new synthetic route to the antiepileptic drug rufinamide. The reaction mechanism was also investigated both experimentally and computationally.