Hydrosilylation of Aldehydes and Ketones Catalyzed by Half‐Sandwich Manganese(I) N‐Heterocyclic Carbene Complexes

Abstract

Abstract Easily available manganese(I) N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC) complexes, Cp(CO) 2 Mn(NHC), obtained in one step from industrially produced cymantrene, were evaluated as pre‐catalysts in the hydrosilylation of carbonyl compounds under UV irradiation. Complexes with NHC ligands incorporating at least one mesityl group led to the most active and selective catalytic systems. A variety of aldehydes (13 examples) and ketones (11 examples) were efficiently reduced under mild conditions [Cp(CO) 2 Mn(IMes) (1 mol%), Ph 2 SiH 2 (1.5 equiv.), hν (350 nm), toluene, 25 °C, 1–24 h] with good functional group tolerance. magnified image