An improved ruthenium catalyst for the environmentally benign amination of primary and secondary alcohols

The N-alkylation of amines in the presence of different ruthenium catalysts generated in situ was investigated. Among the various catalysts tested, the combination of [Ru-3(CO)(12)] and N-phenyl-2-(dicyclohexylphosphanyl)pyrrole showed the best performance. By applying this novel catalyst, a variety of functionalized alcohols and amines were converted into the corresponding secondary amines in high yield.