Especially metallic zinc is a cheap and safe electron source, recently rediscovered in mild and efficient aqueous Barbier–Grignard type alkylations. 5 During our recent studies on the zinc promoted aminomethylation of alkyl halides, 6 the formation of N-methylated tertiary amines as side products in some cases prompted us to explore this process for the simple, general, and selective N-methylation of primary and secondary amines. The generally accepted mechanism involves in the first ...