Acceptorless Dehydrogenative Coupling Using Ammonia: Direct Synthesis of N-Heteroaromatics from Diols Catalyzed by Ruthenium

The synthesis of N-heteroaromatic compounds via an acceptorless dehydrogenative coupling process involving direct use of ammonia as the nitrogen source was explored. We report the synthesis of pyrazine derivatives from 1,2-diols and the synthesis of N-substituted pyrroles by a multicomponent dehydrogenative coupling of 1,4-diols and primary alcohols with ammonia. The acridine-based Ru-pincer complex 1 is an effective catalyst for these transformations, in which the acridine backbone is converted to an anionic dearomatized PNP-pincer ligand framework.