Iron-Catalyzed Methylation Using the Borrowing Hydrogen Approach

A general iron-catalyzed methylation has been developed using methanol as a C1 building block. This borrowing hydrogen approach employs a Knolker-type (cyclopentadienone)iron carbonyl complex as catalyst (2 mol %) and exhibits a broad reaction scope. A variety of ketones, indoles, oxindoles, amines, and sulfonamides undergo mono- or dimethylation in excellent isolated yields (>60 examples, 79% average yield).