A palladium-catalyzed direct ortho-ethoxycarbonylation of azobenzenes and azoxybenzenes with diethyl azodicarboxylate (DEAD) was developed. In the presence of Cu(OAc)2 or (NH4)2S2O8 as the oxidant, this protocol allowed using both electron-deficient and electron-rich azobenzenes and azoxybenzenes to produce the corresponding products in moderate to good yields.
