Synthesis of ( E )-Silyl-Acrylates via Ruthenium-Catalyzed Selective Dehydrogenative Si–H/C–H Silylation of Acrylates

An efficient and selective ruthenium-catalyzed dehydrogenative Si-H/C-H silylation of acrylates is described. A broad range of (E)-silylated acrylates could be easily synthesized with good functional group tolerance in moderate to excellent yields under mild conditions from hydrosilanes and acrylates. The RuHCl(CO)(PPh₃)₃/nbe catalytic system exhibits high stereo-, chemo-, and regio-selectivity. Furthermore, gram-scale syntheses were demonstrated, and a plausible mechanism involving the step of alkene insertion into a Ru-Si bond is proposed.