Regio- and Stereoselective Dehydrogenative Silylation and Hydrosilylation of Vinylarenes Catalyzed by Ruthenium Alkylidenes

Development of regio- and stereoselective dehydrogenative silylation and hydrosilylation of vinylarenes with alkoxysilanes, catalyzed by ruthenium alkylidenes, is described. Varying L- and X-type ligands on ruthenium alkylidenes permits selective access to either (<i>E</i>)-vinylsilanes or β-alkylsilanes with high regio- and stereocontrol. <i>cis,cis</i>-1,5-Cyclooctadiene was identified as the most effective sacrificial hydrogen acceptor for the dehydrogenative silylation of vinylarenes, which allows use of a nearly equimolar ratio of alkenes and silanes

Modular Approach to Reductive C_sp2–H and C_sp3–H Silylation of Carboxylic Acid Derivatives through Single-Pot, Sequential Transition Metal Catalysis

We report a modular approach to catalytic reductive C_sp2–H and C_sp3–H silylation of carboxylic acid derivatives encompassing esters, ketones, and aldehydes. Choice of either an Ir­(I)/Rh­(I) or Rh­(I)/Rh­(I) sequence leads to either exhaustive reductive ester or reductive ketone/aldehyde silylation, respectively. Notably, a catalyst-controlled direct formation of doubly reduced silyl ethers is presented, specifically via Ir-catalyzed exhaustive hydrosilylation. The resulting silyl ethers undergo C_sp2–H and benzylic C_sp3–H silylation in a single vessel

Catalytic Reductive <i>ortho</i>-C–H Silylation of Phenols with Traceless, Versatile Acetal Directing Groups and Synthetic Applications of Dioxasilines

A new, highly selective, bond functionalization strategy, achieved via relay of two transition metal catalysts and the use of traceless acetal directing groups, has been employed to provide facile formation of C–Si bonds and concomitant functionalization of a silicon group in a single vessel. Specifically, this approach involves the relay of Ir-catalyzed hydrosilylation of inexpensive and readily available phenyl acetates, exploiting disubstituted silyl synthons to afford silyl acetals and Rh-catalyzed <i>ortho</i>-C–H silylation to provide dioxasilines. A subsequent nucleophilic addition to silicon removes the acetal directing groups and directly provides unmasked phenol products and, thus, useful functional groups at silicon achieved in a single vessel. This traceless acetal directing group strategy for catalytic <i>ortho-</i>C–H silylation of phenols was also successfully applied to preparation of multisubstituted arenes. Remarkably, a new formal α-chloroacetyl directing group has been developed that allows catalytic reductive C–H silylation of sterically hindered phenols. In particular, this new method permits access to highly versatile and nicely differentiated 1,2,3-trisubstituted arenes that are difficult to access by other catalytic routes. In addition, the resulting dioxasilines can serve as chromatographically stable halosilane equivalents, which allow not only removal of acetal directing groups but also introduce useful functional groups leading to silicon-bridged biaryls. We demonstrated that this catalytic C–H bond silylation strategy has powerful synthetic potential by creating direct applications of dioxasilines to other important transformations, examples of which include aryne chemistry, Au-catalyzed direct arylation, sequential orthogonal cross-couplings, and late-stage silylation of phenolic bioactive molecules and BINOL scaffolds

Mechanistic Insights into Grubbs-Type Ruthenium-Complex-Catalyzed Intramolecular Alkene Hydrosilylation: Direct σ‑Bond Metathesis in the Initial Stage of Hydrosilylation

Grubbs-type ruthenium-complex-mediated intramolecular alkene hydrosilylation of alkenylsilyl ethers has been developed to provide cyclic silyl ethers with high regioselectivity. This non-metathetical use of such ruthenium complexes for alkene hydrosilylation via preferential Si–H bond activation over alkene activation is notable, where the competing alkene metathesis dimerization was not detected. In addition to the synthesis of organosilicon heterocycles from readily available olefins, this study provides fundamental mechanistic insights into the non-metathetical function of Grubbs-type ruthenium catalysts. In the initial stage of hydrosilylation within a ruthenium coordination sphere, evidence for activation of a ruthenium complex by direct σ-bond metathesis between Si–H and Ru–Cl via a four-centered transition state is presented. This study counters the traditionally accepted Chauvin-type mechanism, specifically the addition of R₃Si–H across the π-bond of a Ru-benzylidene