Effect of the ancillary ligand in N-heterocyclic carbene iridium(III) catalyzed N-alkylation of amines with alcohols

Abstract

A series of air-stable N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) Ir(III) complexes (Ir1-6), bearing various combinations of chlorine, pyridine and NHC ligands, were assayed for the N-alkylation of amines with alcohols. It was found that Ir3, with two monodentate 1,3-bis-methyl-imidazolylidene (IMe) ligands, emerged as the most active complex. A large variety of amines and primary alcohols were efficiently converted into mono-N-alkylated amines in 53–96% yields. As a special highlight, for the challenging MeOH, selective N-monomethylation could be achieved using KOH as a base under an air atmosphere. Moreover, this catalytic system was successfully applied to the gram-scale synthesis of some valuable compounds.