The role of the alcohol and carboxylic acid in directed ruthenium-catalyzed C(sp3)-H α-alkylation of cyclic amines.

A general directed Ru-catalyzed C(sp(3))-H α-alkylation protocol for piperidines (less-reactive substrates than the corresponding five-membered cyclic amines) has been developed. The use of a hindered alcohol (2,4-dimethyl-3-pentanol) as the solvent and catalyst activator, and a catalytic amount of trans-1,2-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid is necessary to achieve a high conversion to product. This protocol was used to effectively synthesize a number of 2-hexyl- and 2,6-dihexyl piperidines, as well as the alkaloid (±)-solenopsin A. Kinetic studies have revealed that the carboxylic acid additive has a significant effect on catalyst initiation, catalyst longevity, and reverses the reaction selectivity compared with the acid-free reaction (promotes alkylation versus competing alkene reduction).