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Updated: Mar 14, 2026

Facile Preparation of 2Z,4E-Dienamides by the Olefination of Electron-deficient Alkenes with Allyl Acetate
Published on: June 21, 2017
Efficient and selective N-alkylation of amines with alcohols catalysed by manganese pincer complexes
Saravanakumar Elangovan1,2, Jacob Neumann1, Jean-Baptiste Sortais2
1Leibniz-Institut für Katalyse e.V. an der Universität Rostock, Albert-Einstein-Straße 29a, Rostock 18059, Germany.
Abstract:
Borrowing hydrogen (or hydrogen autotransfer) reactions represent straightforward and sustainable C-N bond-forming processes. In general, precious metal-based catalysts are employed for this effective transformation. In recent years, the use of earth abundant and cheap non-noble metal catalysts for this process attracted considerable attention in the scientific community. Here we show that the selective N-alkylation of amines with alcohols can be catalysed by defined PNP manganese pincer complexes. A variety of substituted anilines are monoalkylated with different (hetero)aromatic and aliphatic alcohols even in the presence of other sensitive reducible functional groups. As a special highlight, we report the chemoselective monomethylation of primary amines using methanol under mild conditions.
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