A copper nitrate-catalyzed cross-dehydrogenative coupling reaction between N-hydroxyphthalimide (NHPI) and ethers/alkanes has been described. The reaction is accomplished smoothly by using simple and green molecular oxygen as the oxidant, providing an alternative for the efficient synthesis of N-alkoxyphthalimides. In addition, it was found that when tert-butyl ethers were used as substrates, unexpected N-hydroxyimide ester derivatives were obtained in moderate to excellent yields. To further understand this unusual transformation, control experiments were performed and a plausible mechanism was proposed.

中文翻译：

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硝酸铜催化的未活化的醚和烷烃的C（sp ³）–H键与N-羟基邻苯二甲酰亚胺的氧化偶联：N-羟基酰亚胺酯的合成

已经描述了N-羟基邻苯二甲酰亚胺（NHPI）与醚/烷烃之间的硝酸铜催化的交叉脱氢偶联反应。通过使用简单的绿色分子氧作为氧化剂，可以顺利完成反应，为有效合成N-烷氧基邻苯二甲酰亚胺提供了一种选择。另外，发现当将叔丁基醚用作底物时，以中等至优异的产率获得了意想不到的N-羟基酰亚胺酯衍生物。为了进一步理解这种不寻常的转化，进行了对照实验并提出了合理的机制。