Ruthenium-catalyzed synthesis of vinylamides at low acetylene pressure.

The reaction of cyclic amides with acetylene under low pressure, using ruthenium-phosphine catalysts, afforded a broad variety of N-vinylated amides including (azabicyclic) lactams, oxazolidinones, benzoisoxazolones, isoindolinones, quinoxalinones, oxazinanones, cyclic urea derivatives (imidazolidinones), nucleobases (thymine), amino acid anhydrides and thiazolidinone.