Weakly Coordinating, Hydroxyl Directed Ruthenium Catalyzed C-H Alkylation of Ubiquitous Benzyl Alcohols with Maleimides.

Benzyl alcohols have been employed as effective coupling partners in Ru-catalyzed C-H functionalization reactions, and their annulation with maleimides then offers efficient synthesis of useful ortho substituted succinimide aromatic aldehydes and ketones. Detailed mechanistic studies have been demonstrated by performing preliminary reactions, deuterium studies, and competitive experiments.