Ziyan
Yang
,
Qingqing
Fan
,
Xiangxu
Zhang
,
Xiaoyan
Li
and
Hongjian
Sun
*
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory of Special Functional Aggregated Materials, Ministry of Education, Shandong University, Shanda Nanlu 27, 250100, Jinan, People's Republic of China. E-mail: hjsun@sdu.edu.cn
First published on 20th November 2025
A new bis(silylene) [SiCSi] pincer nickel(II) chloride 1, [(L)Ni(Cl)] (L = 1,3-((PhC(tBuN)2Si)(Et)N)2C6H3), was synthesized by the reaction of the corresponding [SiCSi] pincer preligands LH with NiCl2(DME). The experiments indicate that complex 1 can efficiently catalyze hydrosilylation of alkenes with the participation of different additives. When KOtBu was used as an additive, the anti-Markovnikov products were obtained for both aryl alkenes and aliphatic alkenes. But in the case of nBuLi as an additive, the Markovnikov products were formed from aryl alkenes. Further study indicated that a complex containing a Ni–H bond may be the real catalyst when using nBuLi as an additive. The molecular structure of complex 1 was confirmed with the single crystal X-ray diffraction technique. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example of alkene hydrosilylation catalyzed by a silylene nickel complex.
In recent years, N-heterocyclic silylene (NHSi) ligands have gradually attracted people's attention as analogues of N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands. In many cases, NHSi ligands have been successfully applied to homogeneous catalytic reactions catalyzed by transition metal complexes and have already exhibited excellent catalytic performance.14
So far, there have only been a few reports on the catalytic hydrosilylation of alkenes by silylene metal complexes. In 2016, the research results of the Kato team showed that the introduction of silylene ligands into the Karstedt catalyst not only significantly improved the stability of the catalyst but also greatly improved the selectivity and catalytic activity compared with traditional Karstedt catalysts and NHC Pt catalysts.15 Our latest research also showed that the introduction of silylene ligands into organic phosphorus cobalt complexes can effectively regulate the selectivity and enhance the activity of the catalyst for the hydrosilylation of alkenes.13g,i So far, there have been no reports on the catalytic hydrosilylation of alkenes by silylene nickel complexes.
In this paper, a bis(silylene) [SiCSi] pincer nickel(II) chloride 1 was synthesized and used as a catalyst for alkene hydrosilylation. The experiments indicate that with the participation of different additives, complex 1 can efficiently catalyze hydrosilylation of alkenes. When KOtBu was used as an additive, the anti-Markovnikov products were obtained for both aryl alkenes and aliphatic alkenes. With nBuLi as an additive, the Markovnikov products were formed from aryl alkenes. Further study indicated that a complex containing a Ni–H bond may be the real catalyst when using nBuLi as an additive.
In the 1H NMR spectrum of complex 1, the peaks of tBu-, CH3- and CH2 groups appear at 1.44, 1.02, and 3.37 ppm, respectively, with an integral ratio of 18
:
3
:
2. In the 29Si NMR spectrum of complex 1, a signal at 13.84 ppm indicates that the two Si atoms have the same chemical environment. Compared with the chemical shift of Si atoms in ligand LH (−14.7 ppm), the coordination of Si atoms in complex 1 leads to a decrease in electron density on the Si atom, and the 29Si NMR signal of complex 1 is significantly shifted towards downfield. The molecular structure of complex 1 was confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis (Fig. 1). Complex 1 has a square-planar structure centered on the Ni atom with a sum of total coordination bond angles of 359.89° (Si1–Ni1–C1 = 82.18(6)°, Si2–Ni1–C1 = 82.21(5)°, Si1–Ni1–Cl1 = 99.14(2)° and Si2–Ni1–Cl1 = 96.36(2)°), slightly deviating from 360°. This indicates that the nickel atom and the four coordination atoms (Si, C, Si and Cl) are essentially coplanar. The two Ni–Sisilylene bond lengths (Ni1–Si1 = 2.1846(6) Å and Ni1–Si2 = 2.1801(6) Å) are slightly longer than those of the related [SiCSi] pincer nickel bromide (2.1737(7) Å and 2.1716(7) Å).16 It is believed that this is because the Ni(II) center of complex 1 as a chloride has a lower electron cloud density than the Ni(II) center in the bromide. Thus, the π-backbond from the Ni(II) atom to the Si(II) atom in complex 1 is weakened, resulting in a longer Ni–Si bond length in complex 1.
:
2 (b
:
l) could be reached at 120 °C within 8 min for aryl alkenes.13f
Inspired by the above research results, we used the reaction of styrene with Ph2SiH2 as a template reaction to explore the catalytic effect of complex 1 on alkene hydrosilylation with the participation of different additives. The results are summarized in Table 1. From entries 1–4 in Table 1, it can be seen that when the loading of catalyst was 1 mol% and the reaction was carried out at 70 °C for 30 min under solvent-free conditions, the catalyst has the best catalytic activity and selectivity with KOtBu as an additive. The substrate conversion rate is 100% and the selectivity is 23
:
77 (entry 3, Table 1). When NaHBEt3 was used as an additive, although complete substrate conversion could also be achieved under the same conditions, the selectivity is 49
:
51 (entry 4, Table 1). The reaction temperature has a significant effect on the reaction selectivity, and 70 °C is the optimal temperature for the reaction (entries 3, 5 and 6, Table 1). Considering both the conversion rate and selectivity, the catalytic system performs best under solvent-free conditions (entries 3 and 7–11, Table 1). Further experiments have shown that the best catalytic effect could be achieved when using Ph2SiH2 as silane (entries 3 and 12–16, Table 1). When the catalyst loading was increased to 2 mol%, the selectivity of the catalytic system decreased from 23
:
77 to 39
:
61. Although the selectivity slightly increased when the catalyst loading was reduced to 0.5 mol%, the conversion rate decreased from 100% to 73% (entries 3, 17 and 18, Table 1). Finally, under the reaction conditions of entry 3, we further optimized the reaction conditions by changing the order of substrate addition. The results show that the order of substrate addition has a significant impact on the reaction selectivity (entries 19 and 20, Table 1). When catalyst 1 was pre-reacted with styrene for 30 min, Ph2SiH2 was added and the reaction was continued for another 30 min, the conversion rate was 100%, and the selectivity could reach 3
:
97 (entry 19, Table 1). When catalyst 1 was pre-reacted with Ph2SiH2 for 30 min, styrene was added and the reaction was continued for another 30 min, the selectivity reached only 14
:
86 although the conversion rate was also 100% (entry 20, Table 1). Therefore, we consider that the reaction conditions of entry 19 in Table 1 were the optimal catalytic conditions.
| Entry | Loading (mol%) | Additive | Solvent | Temp. (°C) | Silane | Conv. (%) | Ratiob (b/l) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a Catalytic reaction conditions: alkene (1.0 mmol), Ph2SiH2 (1.2 mmol). Conversions and product ratios were determined using GC with n-dodecane as an internal standard. b b/l: branched to linear ratio. c Pre-reacted with styrene for 30 min. d Pre-reacted with Ph2SiH2 for 30 min. | |||||||
| 1 | 1 | — | Neat | 70 | Ph2SiH2 | 42 | 49 : 51 |
| 2 | 1 | NaOMe | Neat | 70 | Ph2SiH2 | 43 | 45 : 55 |
| 3 | 1 | KOtBu | Neat | 70 | Ph2SiH2 | 100 | 23 : 77 |
| 4 | 1 | NaHBEt3 | Neat | 70 | Ph2SiH2 | 100 | 49 : 51 |
| 5 | 1 | KOtBu | Neat | 80 | Ph2SiH2 | 100 | 34 : 66 |
| 6 | 1 | KOtBu | Neat | 60 | Ph2SiH2 | 76 | 64 : 36 |
| 7 | 1 | KOtBu | Toluene | 70 | Ph2SiH2 | 100 | 48 : 52 |
| 8 | 1 | KOtBu | Dioxane | 70 | Ph2SiH2 | 77 | 31 : 69 |
| 9 | 1 | KOtBu | THF | 70 | Ph2SiH2 | 82 | 38 : 62 |
| 10 | 1 | KOtBu | n-pentane | 70 | Ph2SiH2 | 100 | 27 : 73 |
| 11 | 1 | KOtBu | DMSO | 70 | Ph2SiH2 | 58 | 29 : 71 |
| 12 | 1 | KOtBu | Neat | 70 | PhSiH3 | 31 | |
| 13 | 1 | KOtBu | Neat | 70 | Ph3SiH | 17 | |
| 14 | 1 | KOtBu | Neat | 70 | PhSiHCl2 | 24 | |
| 15 | 1 | KOtBu | Neat | 70 | Et3SiH | 30 | |
| 16 | 1 | KOtBu | Neat | 70 | (EtO)3SiH | 25 | |
| 17 | 2 | KOtBu | Neat | 70 | Ph2SiH2 | 100 | 39 : 61 |
| 18 | 0.5 | KOtBu | Neat | 70 | Ph2SiH2 | 73 | 21 : 79 |
| 19c | 1 | KOtBu | Neat | 70 | Ph2SiH2 | 100 | 3 : 97 |
| 20d | 1 | KOtBu | Neat | 70 | Ph2SiH2 | 100 | 14 : 86 |
Under the above optimized conditions, we investigated the universality of the catalytic system for substrates of alkene hydrosilylation (Table 2). The results show that the catalytic system provides high yields of anti-Markovnikov addition products for both aliphatic alkenes (1a–1f, Table 2) and aromatic alkenes (1g–1r, Table 2). For aromatic alkenes, both the substrates with electron-withdrawing groups, such as halogens and trifluoromethyl groups, on the benzene ring (1h–1l, Table 2) and the substrates with electron-donating groups, such as methyl, methoxy, and tert-butyl groups on the benzene ring (1m–1p, Table 2), exhibit good tolerance. In addition, the position of the substituent on the benzene ring has little effect on the catalytic reaction.
In order to understand the reaction mechanism of the above catalytic system and the role of KOtBu as an additive in the catalytic system, we designed and implemented the following three stoichiometric reactions (Scheme 2). Unfortunately, no identifiable species were separated through the three reactions, and the expected hydrido nickel species were not detected using in situ IR and 1H NMR spectroscopy to track the reaction of (b) in Scheme 2 at low temperatures. Combining these results and the literature report,18 we speculate that the addition of KOtBu promotes the generation of unknown active species, thereby enhancing the activity and selectivity of the catalyst. Obviously, the catalytic mechanism by complex 1 is different from that with the [NNN] pincer nickel chloride reported by Hu.9 Unlike this, when nBuLi is used as an additive, it is found that the hydrido nickel complexes are possible active intermediates (as shown in the experiment below).
:
2 when using styrene and Ph2SiH2 as template substrates, nBuLi as an additive, and 1 mol% complex 1 as a catalyst. Compared with the catalytic system using the KOtBu additive, the selectivity for the reaction of aromatic alkenes shifted from the anti-Markovnikov addition product to the Markovnikov addition product. When the reaction time was extended to 60 min, complete conversion could be achieved with a reaction selectivity of 99
:
1. When the catalyst loading was reduced to 0.5 mol% with 30 min reaction time, the conversion rate was 70% although the selectivity was 99
:
1 (entry 3, Table 3). However, quantitative conversion could also be achieved after 60 min while the reaction selectivity (99
:
1) remained unchanged (entry 4, Table 3).
| Entry | Loading (mol%) | Time (min) | Conv. (%) | Ratiob (b/l) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| a Catalytic reaction conditions: styrene (1.0 mmol), Ph2SiH2 (1.2 mmol). Conversions and product ratios were determined using GC with n-dodecane as an internal standard. b b/l: branched to linear ratio. | ||||
| 1 | 1 | 30 | 85 | 98 : 2 |
| 2 | 1 | 60 | 100 | 99 : 1 |
| 3 | 0.5 | 30 | 70 | 99 : 1 |
| 4 | 0.5 | 60 | 100 | 99 : 1 |
Under the conditions of entry 4 in Table 3, we further expanded the range of substrates (Table 4). It is found that aliphatic alkenes provided anti-Markovnikov products (1a–1f, Table 4) while aromatic alkenes gave rise to Markovnikov products (2g–2p, Table 4). The experimental results show that the catalytic system has good tolerance to different substrates bearing various substituents with good yields and excellent regioselectivity.
| a Catalytic reaction conditions: 1 (0.5 mol%), n-BuLi (0.5 mol%), alkene (1.0 mmol), Ph2SiH2 (1.2 mmol), solvent-free, 70 °C, 60 min, isolated yields. |
|---|
|
To understand the reaction mechanism of the catalytic system with nBuLi as an additive, we further investigated the stoichiometric reaction between complex 1 and nBuLi (Scheme 3). An absorption signal at 1703 cm−1 corresponding to the Ni–H bond was observed in the in situ IR spectrum of the reaction solution after reacting for 15 min at −80 °C (Fig. S61).22 Meanwhile, in the 1H NMR of the reaction mixture, the signals were observed at −10.0 and −16.96 ppm, indicating that a hydrido nickel intermediate A was formed during the reaction (Scheme 3, Fig. S62).22 It is believed that the peak at −16.96 ppm is the hydrido signal of intermediate A, while the peak at −10.0 ppm belongs to the hydrogen signal of the semi-activated Csp2–H bond. It is speculated that hydrido intermediate A is unstable in solution and can transform into Ni(0) species with semi-activated η2-(Csp2–H) coordination via reductive elimination. In general, compared to the signals of metal hydrides, the hydrogen signal of η2-(Csp2–H) appears at lower field (downfield). It is believed that intermediate A was generated by β-H elimination of a butyl nickel complex. When the reaction time was further prolonged to 2 h, the signal at 1703 cm−1 disappeared in the in situ IR spectrum, indicating that the species containing the Ni–H bond was unstable (Fig. S63). Under the same conditions, no Ni–H bond vibration or hydrido resonance was observed in the in situ IR spectrum or 1H NMR of the three-component reaction of complex 1, nBuLi, and styrene. This suggested that intermediate A could rapidly convert to the benzyl nickel intermediate Cvia the C
C insertion reaction of styrene to the Ni–H bond (Scheme 3). In addition, it was found that the conversion rate of the reaction gradually decreased as the pre-reaction time between complex 1 and n-BuLi increased (Table 5). This means that the hydrido intermediate A is unstable.
Based on the above experimental results and relevant reference,13i,23 a possible mechanism for the catalytic system of complex 1 involving nBuLi as an additive is proposed, as shown in Scheme 4. Firstly, complex 1 reacts with nBuLi via β-H elimination to form nickel hydride intermediate A, which then coordinates with an alkene substrate to give rise to intermediate B. For an aromatic substrate, the coordinated alkene is inserted into the Ni–H bond via 2,1-insertion to form intermediate C. For an aliphatic substrate, the coordinated alkene is inserted into the Ni–H bond via 1,2-insertion to form intermediate E. Then, C or E interacts with Ph2SiH2 to produce a four-membered transition state D or F. Finally, through the σ-bond metathesis reaction, a Markovnikov product or an anti-Markovnikov product is generated, respectively. At the same time, active intermediate A is re-generated to finish the catalytic cycle. When styrene was used as the substrate, the presence of intermediates B/C and D in the catalytic reaction solution was detected using HRMS(ESI) after the start (30 min) of the reaction. Unfortunately, we were unable to find the molecular ion peaks of intermediates B/E and F using HRMS(ESI) when 1-heptene was used as the substrate (see the SI for details).
Caution! (EtO)3SiH is flammable and highly toxic by inhalation and may cause skin irritation and blindness. Even if during our studies on the hydrosilylation of alkenes, we used it without incident, triethoxysilane should be used with precaution. Indeed, due to possible silane disproportionation, the formation of an extremely pyrophoric gas (possibly SiH4) has led to several fires and explosions reported in the literature (see Buchwald safety letter, Chemical & Engineering News (29 Mar 1993) Vol. 71, No. 13, pp. 2.). In addition, PhSiH3 and Me(EtO)2SiH are also highly flammable.
CCDC 2402419 (1) contains the supplementary crystallographic data for this paper.26
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