Acetic acid as a catalyst for the N-acylation of amines using esters as the acyl source.

We report a cheap and simple method for the acetylation of a variety of amines using catalytic acetic acid and either ethyl acetate or butyl acetate as the acyl source. Catalyst loadings as low as 10 mol% afforded acetamide products in excellent yields at temperatures ranging from 80-120 °C. The methodology can also be successfully applied for the synthesis of a broad range of other amides, including the formation of formamides at 20 °C.