We believed we could improve upon the existing methods by finding a way of transiently activating an ester toward the N-acylation of hydroxylamine. Hogberg et al. 12 have reported that the conversion of esters with ammonia and simple amines to amides is enhanced by the addition of small amounts of cyanide ion. The authors suggested that this reaction proceeds through an acylcyanide intermediate followed by nucleophilic substitution by the amine. To the best of our knowledge, there is ...
