Ruthenium-catalyzed meta-C-H bond alkylation of aryl 2-pyridyl ketones.

The first example of meta-selective C-Ar-H bond functionalization of aryl 2-pyridyl ketones has been developed using [Ru(p-cymene)Cl-2](2) as the catalyst and alkyl bromide as the coupling reagent. This development provides an efficient strategy for modifying the meta-position of aryl 2-pyridyl ketone skeletons, which are found in various functional molecules.