Ruthenium-catalyzed β-alkylation of secondary alcohols with primary alcohols

The catalytic properties of a series of ruthenium complexes for beta-alkylation of secondary alcohols with primary alcohols were studied. The catalytic activities of the ruthenium complexes were found to be dependent on the auxiliary ligands. The most active catalytic precursor found in this study is the ruthenium complex RuCl2(PPh3)(2)(2-NH2CH2Py) [2-NH2CH2Py = 2-aminomethyl pyridine], which effectively catalyzed the b-alkylation of both aryl-and alkyl-substituted secondary alcohols with benzylic and alkyl primary alcohols. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.