Arylation of 4-ethoxycarbonyl-2-phenyloxazol-5-one by aryllead triacetates: a convenient route to α-arylglycines

Abstract

4-Ethoxycarbonyl-2-phenyloxazol-5-one, which exists in chloroform as the enol 2, undergoes rapid arylation under very mild conditions with aryllead(IV) triacetates to give almost quantitative yields of 4-aryl-4-ethoxycarbonyl-2-phenyloxazol-5-ones 3, which in alkali undergo hydrolysis and decarboxylation to provide a simple high-yielding route to a wide range of N-benzoyl-α-arylglycines 4.