Manganese-Catalyzed β-Methylation of Alcohols by Methanol

We report an earth-abundant-metal-catalyzed double and single methylation of alcohols. A manganese catalyst, which operates at low catalyst loadings and short reaction times, mediates these reactions efficiently. A broad scope of primary and secondary alcohols, including purely aliphatic examples, and 1,2-aminoalcohols can be methylated. Furthermore, alcohol methylation for the synthesis of pharmaceuticals has been demonstrated. The catalyst system tolerates many functional groups among them hydrogenation-sensitive examples and upscaling is easily achieved. Mechanistic investigations are indicative of a borrowing hydrogen or hydrogen autotransfer mechanism involving a bimetallic K-Mn catalyst. The catalyst accepts hydrogen as a proton and a hydride from alcohols efficiently and reacts with a chalcone via hydride transfer.