LAUSR

Abstract A metal-, oxidant-, and additive-free conversion of hydroxamates to esters have been achieved using molecular iodine as the reagent using a novel but not-so-explored heron-type rearrangement. The reaction proceeds with almost equal facility with substrates having either electron-donating or electron-withdrawing substituent. Similarly, α,ß-unsaturated, and sterically hindered ortho-substituted hydroxamates also undergo the desired transformation smoothly. Graphical Abstract