Cobalt mediated N-alkylation of amines by alcohols: role of hydrogen bonding pocket

Abstract

Cobalt complexes of amide-based pincers provide a hydrogen bonding pocket that is shown to bind a reagent in the vicinity of a metal center. These cobalt complexes function as non-precious metal based catalysts for the N-alkylation of amines using alcohols via a borrowing hydrogen strategy. Binding studies and mechanistic investigations illustrated the involvement of a few critical intermediates that potentially participated in the catalysis.