Visible Light-Induced N-methyl Activation of Unsymmetric Tertiary Amines

Abstract In the presence of methylene group, selective N-methyl activation of tertiary amines has been accomplished with the aid of visible light using organic photocatalyst under air. This protocol explores numerous aliphatic and aromatic substituted tetra-hydroquinoline analogues from various tertiary amines and maleimides. Furthermore, this approach was applied to activate the methyl group of N-methyl carbazole to generate the biologically active molecule.