N‑Methylation of Amines with Methanol at Room Temperature

Abstract

N-Methylation of amines with methanol proceeds at room temperature in the presence of a silver-loaded titanium dioxide (Ag/TiO₂) photocatalyst under UV–vis light irradiation. This method allows facile synthesis/isolation of <i>N</i>-methylamines bearing various functional groups including <i>N</i>-benzyl, <i>N</i>-allyl, <i>N</i>-Boc, hydroxyl, ether, acetal, carboxamide, formamide, and olefin groups