Ruthenium-Catalyzed One-Pot β-Alkylation of Secondary Alcohols with Primary Alcohols

Abstract

Secondary alcohols (carbinols) react with primary alcohols in dioxane at 80 °C in the presence of a catalytic amount of RuCl2(PPh3)3 and KOH along with a sacrificial hydrogen acceptor to afford the corresponding coupled secondary alcohols. The reaction is applicable to a wide range of aryl methyl, alkyl methyl, and cyclic carbinols, and with alkyl methyl carbinols, the alkylation took place exclusively at the less-hindered methyl position over β-methylene and -methine.