Ruthenium-catalyzed direct α-alkylation of amides using alcohols

The highly efficient direct a-alkylation of unactivated amides has been accomplished using alcohols in the presence of the Ru-PNN catalyst (0.1 mol%) with a high turnover number. Using this approach, 2-oxindole was directly transformed into C3-alkylated 3-hydroxyindolin-2-one in one step without the use of any oxidant.