Cobalt-catalyzed reduction of esters to alkanes

The reduction of aryl carboxylates to methyl and allyl arene was attained using a well-defined cobalt catalyst. This catalytic transformation employs only a sub-stoichiometric amount of base, and diethylsilane as a reductant. Catalytic activation of the Si-H bond of the silanes, C-O bond of the ester, and silyl ether intermediates by cobalt is crucial to achieving exhaustive reduction.