Silyl Formates as Surrogates of Hydrosilanes and Their Application in the Transfer Hydrosilylation of Aldehydes.
Clément ChauvierPierre ThuéryThibault CantatPublished in: Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English) (2016)
Silyl formates are investigated for the first time as surrogates of hydrosilanes. In the presence of a well-defined ruthenium catalyst, these reagents are shown to promote the chemoselective reduction of a variety of aldehydes by transfer hydrosilylation. Mechanistic investigations have shown that genuine hydrosilane species are avoided during catalysis. The mechanism involves a sequence of decarboxylation/insertion/transmetallation steps.