Ketones are efficiently deoxygenated in the presence of silane using highly electrophilic phosphonium cation (EPC) salts as catalysts, thus affording the corresponding alkane and siloxane. The influence of distinct substitution patterns on the catalytic effectiveness of several EPCs was evaluated. The deoxygenation mechanism was probed by DFT methods.
Keywords: Lewis acids; density functional calculations; hydrosilylation; phosphorus; synthetic methods.
© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.