1 College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and Henan Key Laboratory of Function-Oriented Porous Materials, Luoyang Normal University, Luoyang, 471934, P. R. China. zqlu2000@lynh.edu.cn.
2 Hubei Key Laboratory of Natural Products Research and Development, Key Laboratory of Functional Yeast (China National Light Industry), College of Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Yichang, China Three Gorges University, 443002, P. R. China. huangny@ctgu.edu.cn.
A novel tactic for the regioselective O-alkylation of 2-pyridones has been realized through palladium catalysis in moderate to high yields. The coordination effect between palladium and nitrogen on the pyridine ring plays a versatile role.