Cobalt Carbonyl-Based Catalyst for Hydrosilylation of Carboxamides

The cobalt carbonyl [Co-2(CO)(8)] complex is employed as a useful catalyst for the reduction of tertiary amides to the corresponding tertiary amines using 1,1,3,3-tetramethyldisiloxane (TMDS) and poly(methylhydrosiloxane) (PMHS) as silane reagents under thermal (100 degrees C) or photo-assisted conditions (UV, 350nm at room temperature). Of particular interest, a low catalytic amount (0.5mol%) of [Co-2(CO)(8)] is used to perform the reaction with 2.2equiv. of PMHS at 100 degrees C for 3h. This reaction is the first example of a cobalt-catalyzed hydrosilylation of amides.