Reductive deoxygenation of tertiary alcohols: a cobalt-catalyzed hydrosilylation approach

Dehydrogenation of tertiary alcohols is both highly challenging and of notable importance in synthetic chemistry. We report a readily available Co₂(CO)₈ catalyzed hydrosilylation protocol for the reductive deoxygenation of tertiary alcohols involving a radical mechanism. Successful deoxygenation of various tertiary, secondary and primary alcohols demonstrated the broad applicability, including syntheses of fine chemicals. A plausible mechanistic path was proposed based on several control experiments.