Mono- N- methylation of anilines with methanol catalyzed 

by a manganese pincer- complex

문 경 운

The selective mono- N- methylation of anilines derivatives was achieved under mild conditions using inexpensive methanol as C1 source. Under hydrogen borrowing conditions, using a tridentate PN3P manganese pre- catalyst (5 mol%), a catalytic amount of base (20 mol%), for 24 h at 120 C, a large variety of anilines derivatives was methylated in good to excellent yield. Mechanistic investigations allowed us to isolate and characterize by X- ray diffraction studies a de- aromatized manganese intermediate.