Abstract Dess-Martin periodinane (DMP), a highly versatile hypervalent iodine (V) reagent, was found to efficiently mediate the intramolecular cyclization of phenolic azomethines/Schiff bases at ambient temperature leading to the rapid and expeditious synthesis of substituted benzoxazoles and benzothiazoles. Furthermore, a solution-phase strategy has been developed by treating the reaction mixtures sequentially with Amberlyst A-26 thiosulfate ...