Pd/C-Catalyzed Alkylation of Heterocyclic Nucleophiles with Alcohols through the "Borrowing Hydrogen" Process

The alkylation of heterocyclic compounds is important for the synthesis of various biologically active compounds. In this paper, we present the development of a Pd/C-catalyzed alkylation of heterocyclic compounds using alcohols as the alkylating agents. This method gives the corresponding alkylated heterocyclic compounds in high yields (up to 99%). The commercially available catalyst can be recovered and reused five times without significant loss of catalytic efficiency, and the turnover number (TON) was as high as 900. Moreover, the reaction could be scaled up.