A tandem Brook rearrangement/silicon Polonovski reaction has been achieved by in situ generation of ammonium ylides via the oxidation of α-silyl-tertiary amines. Furthermore, we found that the oxidation of N-(1-cyano-1-silyl)methyl-tertiary amines with peracids induced the tandem Brook rearrangement/silicon Polonovski reaction/fragmentation to give formamide derivatives in moderate yields.
Keywords: Brook rearrangement; Polonovski reaction; dealkylation; tandem reaction; tertiary amine N-oxides.