β-Methylation of Primary Alcohols with Methanol Catalyzed by a Metal-Ligand Bifunctional Iridium Catalyst.

The development of efficient methods for the direct introduction of a methyl group into molecules is becoming increasingly important. Herein, the β-methylation of primary alcohols with methanol has been accomplished under environmentally benign conditions using [Cp*Ir(2,2'-bpyO)(H 2 O)] as a catalyst. It was found that functional groups in the ligand are crucially important for the activity of the iridium complex. Furthermore, the mechanistic research and application potential of our catalytic system are also presented.