Effect of triarylphosphane ligands on the rhodium-catalyzed hydrosilylation of alkene

A series of triarylphosphanes (1a, 2a, 3a, 4a, 5a, 6a, 7a, 8a, 9a, 10a, 11a) have been synthesized. An X-ray crystal structure analysis of (2-bromophenyl)diphenylphosphane (1a) unambiguously confirmed the constitution of the functionalized phosphane. The hydrosilylation reaction of styrene with triethoxysilane catalyzed with RhCl3/triarylphosphane was studied. In comparison with the classic Wilkinson's catalyst, rhodium complexes with functionalized triarylphosphane ligands are characterized by a very high catalytic effectiveness for the hydrosilylation of alkene. Among these catalysts tested, RhCl3/diphenyl(2-(trimethylsilyl)phenyl)phosphane (8a) exhibited excellent catalytic properties. Using this silicon-containing phosphane ligand for the rhodium-catalyzed hydrosilylation of styrene, both higher conversion of alkene and higher -adduct selectivity were obtained than with Wilkinson's catalyst. (c) 2014 The Authors. Applied Organometallic Chemistry published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.