A mixture of 4-aminodiphenyl ether (0.5 mmol) with acetonitrile (0.5 mmol), water (1.5 mmol) and potassium phosphate (0.6 mmol) was dissolved in acetonitrile (1.0 mL) or ethyl acetate (1.0 mL) under nitrogen atmosphere. The reaction mixture was stirred at 80 °C for 12 hours. Upon completion of the reaction, the solvent was removed by distillation under reduced pressure to give the crude product of N-(4-phenoxyphenyl)acetamide. The crude product was subsequently purified by short silica gel column chromatography using hexane/ethyl acetate (1:1 to 2:1) as eluent to give pure N-(4-phenoxyphenyl)acetamide.
