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Herein, we report the catalytic activity of a series of platinum(II) pre‐catalysts, bearing N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands, in the alkene hydrosilylation reaction. Their structural and electronic properties are fully investigated using X‐ray diffraction analysis and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). Next, our study presents a structure‐activity relationship within this group of pre‐catalysts and gives mechanistic insights into the catalyst activation step. An exceptional catalytic performance of one of the complexes is observed, reaching a turnover number (TON) of 970 000 and a turnover frequency (TOF) of 40 417 h−1 at 1 ppm catalyst loading. Finally, an attractive solvent‐free and open‐to‐air alkene hydrosilylation protocol, featuring efficient platinum removal (reduction of residual Pt from 582 ppm to 5.8 ppm), is disclosed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A single and accessible cationic iridiumIII metallacycle effectively catalyzes the one‐pot sequential double hydrosilylation of challenging α,β‐unsaturated secondary and tertiary amides to afford, in a controlled and straightforward way, the corresponding reduced products, namely, the related secondary and tertiary amides and amines. The catalytic hydrosilylations of the conjugated amides described herein proceeded in good yields and high chemoselectivities. The critical silyl enolate, in other words silyl ketene aminal intermediate, has been observed and characterized by using control experiments, mass spectrometry and state of the art NMR analyses. The present achievements indicate a promising potential of catalysts based on metallacycles for future significant developments in one‐pot multicatalytic synthesis and therefore the production of highly functionalized and complex organic molecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Readily accessible cationic IrIII metallacycles catalyze efficiently the chemoselective hydrosilylation of tertiary and secondary amides to amines. The catalyst described herein operates at low loadings using inexpensive 1,1,3,3-tetramethyldisiloxane and allows fast reactions with high yields, selectivities, and turnover numbers. A transient iminium intermediate has been observed for the first time by using mass spectrometry, and the activation of the catalyst and the silane reagent have been studied by using DFT calculations. These fundamental insights support the present and future improvements of IrIII metallacycles through proper ligand modifications and enable further broad applications of catalysts based on metallacycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]