Rapid, Regioconvergent, Solvent-Free Alkene Hydrosilylation with a Cobalt Catalyst

Alkene hydrosilylation is typically
performed with Pt catalysts,
but inexpensive base-metal catalysts would be preferred. We report
a Co catalyst for anti-Markovnikov alkene hydrosilylation that can
be used without added solvent at low temperatures with low loadings,
and can be generated in situ from an air-stable precursor
that is simple to synthesize from low-cost, commercially available
materials. In addition, a mixture of Co catalysts performs a tandem
catalytic alkene isomerization/hydrosilylation reaction that converts
multiple isomers of hexene to the same terminal product. This regioconvergent
reaction uses isomerization as a benefit rather than a hindrance.