In Water and under Mild Conditions: α-Alkylation of Ketones with Alcohols by Phase-Transfer-Assisted Borrowing Hydrogen Catalysis.

Borrowing hydrogen is a powerful and green technique that allows readily available alcohols to be used as alkylating agents and produces water as the only by-product. Nevertheless, harsh conditions such as high temperatures and organic solvents are usually required. Herein, we present a strategy to perform the α-alkylation of ketones in aqueous media at mild temperatures by combining borrowing hydrogen with phase-transfer catalysis. A broad scope of methyl ketones was functionalized with alkyl and benzyl alcohols in moderate to good yields at 40 °C. The protocol was also highly effective at large scale and room temperature.