Recent Advances in the Functionalization of Hydrocarbons: Synthesis of Amides and its Derivatives

The functionalization of hydrocarbons represents an attractive approach for the synthesis of amides. The amide bond is one of the most fascinating functional groups in nature, owing to its high bond polarity, stability, and conformational diversity. Amides play an essential role in the composition of many natural products, agrochemicals, peptides, polymers, proteins, biologically active systems, and functional materials. The present review focuses on recent breakthroughs and current challenges for the functionalization of hydrocarbons to synthesize amides. This review provides comprehensive coverage on recent reports of various efficient metal-catalyzed and metal-free methods for the synthesis of amides from hydrocarbons (such as methylarenes, alkenes, and alkynes). We also show the reaction mechanisms of representative reactions in a detailed way with numerous examples and applications of these methods in the synthesis of bioactive compounds.