Reaction of 1, 3-dicarbonyl compounds with alcohols or olefins in the presence of catalytic amounts of electron-deficient [Ru (salophen) OTf] produced α-alkylated 1, 3-dicarbonyls under solvent-free conditions. Different substituted benzylic alcohols were efficiently reacted with 2, 4-pentanedione or 1, 3-diphenyl-1, 3-propanedione and their corresponding alkylated diones were obtained in good to excellent yield. On the other hand, substituted ...
