Ruthenium NNN‐Based Pincer Complexes with Metal Ligand Cooperation as Catalysts for N‐Methylation of Anilines and Nitroarenes with Methanol as a C1 Source.

A novel phosphine‐free ruthenium pincer complex based on an NNN pincer ligand has been prepared and fully characterized. The complex was subsequently employed as an efficient catalyst for the N‐methylation of amines and the direct N‐methylation of nitroarenes using methanol as a C1 source under mild reaction conditions following the borrowing‐hydrogen approach. Both of the catalytic transformations were performed with only catalytic amounts of base under closed air conditions without using any other additives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]