Studies on the mechanism of B(C6F5)3-catalyzed hydrosilation of carbonyl functions

The strong organoborane Lewis acid B(C6F5)(3) catalyzes the hydrosilation (using R3SiH) of aromatic and aliphatic carbonyl functions at convenient rates with loadings of 1-4%. For aldehydes and ketones, the product silyl ethers are isolated in 75-96% yield; for esters, the aldehydes produced upon workup of the silyl acetal products can be obtained in 45-70% yield. Extensive mechanistic studies point to an unusual silane activation mechanism rather than one involving borane activation of the carbonyl function. Quantitative kinetic studies show that the least basic substrates are hydrosilated at the fastest rates; furthermore, increased concentrations of substrate have an inhibitory effect on the observed reaction rate. Paradoxically, the most basic substrates are reduced selectively, albeit at a slower rate, in competition experiments. The borane thus must dissociate from the carbonyl to activate the silane via hydride abstraction; the incipient silylium species then coordinates the most basic function, which is selectively reduced by [HB(C6F5)(3)]. In addition to the kinetic data, this mechanistic proposal is supported by a kinetic isotope effect of 1.4(5) for the hydrosilation of acetophenone, the observation that B(C6F5)(3) catalyzes H/D and H/H scrambling in silanes in the absence of substrate, computational investigations, the synthesis of models for proposed intermediates, and other isotope labeling and crossover experiments.