Ruthenium-Catalyzed Synthesis of N-Methylated Amides using Methanol.

An efficient synthesis of N-methylated amides using methanol in the presence of a ruthenium(II) catalyst is realized. Notably, applying this process, tandem C-methylation and N-methylation were achieved to synthesize α-methyl N-methylated amides. In addition, several kinetic studies and control experiments with the plausible intermediates were performed to understand this novel protocol. Furthermore, detailed computational studies were carried out to understand the mechanism of this transformation.