Iron-Catalyzed α-Methylation of Ketones Using Methanol as the C1 Source under Photoirradiation

Org Lett. 2022 Aug 26;24(33):6219-6223. doi: 10.1021/acs.orglett.2c02545. Epub 2022 Aug 12.

Abstract

A mild, environmentally benign approach for α-methylation of ketones utilizing methanol as the C1 source under visible light has been developed. The reaction conditions were favorable for a wide range of ketones with both aromatic and aliphatic backbones, allowing for good-to-excellent yields of the respective products. The tentative mechanism is postulated after preliminary mechanistic and kinetic experiments.