Manganese-Catalyzed C(α)-Alkylation of Oxindoles with Secondary Alcohols via Borrowing Hydrogen

Abstract

A general and efficient C(α)-alkylation of oxindoles with unactivated secondary alcohols as alkylating agents catalyzed by a newly developed NNN-Mn(II) complex is reported. Mechanistic studies illustrate that the importance of the NH moiety in the complex and M–L cooperation play very important roles during the catalytic transformation.