Palladium on Charcoal as a Catalyst for Stoichiometric Chemo- and Stereoselective Hydrosilylations and Hydrogenations with Triethylsilane

Stoichiometric quantities of triethylsilane in the presence of activated Pd/C as the catalyst can be used to effect chemo-, regio-, and stereoselective hydrosilylation and transfer hydrogenation reactions. α,β-Unsaturated aldehydes and ketones are selectively hydrosilylated to give the corresponding enol silanes or transfer hydrogenated to give the saturated carbonyl compounds in the presence of other reducible functional groups.

Pd/C-Catalyzed Hydrosilylation of Enals and Enones with Triethylsilane: Conformer Populations Control the Stereoselectivity

The palladium-on-charcoal-catalyzed chemo-, regio-, and stereoselective 1,4-hydrosilylation and transfer hydrogenation reactions of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes and ketones with triethylsilane have been investigated with a combination of experimental and theoretical methods. The reaction mechanism has been studied experimentally by monitoring the reactions by 1H NMR from aliquots withdrawn from the stirred reaction mixtures, labeling experiments, and control experiments. Our density functional theory results indicate that both aforementioned reactions are initiated with a dissociative adsorption of the triethylsilane on the palladium catalyst. In the hydrosilylation reaction, the α,β-unsaturat…

Stereoselective Hydrosilylation of Enals and Enones Catalysed by Palladium Nanoparticles

A highly versatile and efficient hydrosilylation method by palladium nanoparticle catalysis allows the direct and chemoselective synthesis of 1) enolsilanes of high isomeric purity, 2) saturated aldehydes or ketones, or 3) the corresponding saturated acetals from α,β-unsaturated aldehydes or ketones. The choice of the product is determined by simply switching the solvent from THF to mixtures of THF/water or THF/alcohol.

Understanding selective reduction reactions with heterogeneous Pd and Pt : climbing out of the black box

First Principles Calculations for Hydrogenation of Acrolein on Pd and Pt: Chemoselectivity Depends on Steric Effects on the Surface

The chemoselective hydrogenation of acrolein on Pt(111) and Pd(111) surfaces is investigated employing density functional theory calculations. The computed potential energy surfaces together with the analysis of reaction mechanisms demonstrate that steric effects are an important factor that governs chemoselectivity. The reactions at the C=O functionality require more space than the reactions at the C=C functionality. Therefore the formation of allyl alcohol is more favorable at low coverage, while the reduction of the C=C bond and the formation of propanal becomes kinetically more favorable at higher coverage. The elementary reaction steps are found to follow different reaction mechanisms,…