para-Selective CH Amidation of Simple Arenes with Nitriles

A para-selective CH amidation of simple arenes with nitriles has been developed. By increasing the amount of arenes, a further meta-selective CH arylation of the produced amides occurred. Both steric and electronic effects are utilized to control the selectivity, resulting in only para-selective amidation products. The readily available nitriles as amidation reagents instead of amides makes the synthesis of N-arylamides more accessible.