Catalytic activation of remote alkenes through silyl-rhodium(III) complexes.

The tandem isomerization-hydrosilylation reaction is a highly valuable process able to transform mixtures of internal olefins into linear silanes. Unsaturated and cationic hydrido-silyl-Rh(III) complexes have proven to be effective catalysts for this reaction. Herein, three silicon-based bidentate ligands, 8-(dimethylsilyl)quinoline (L1), 8-(dimethylsilyl)-2-methylquinoline (L2) and 4-(dimethylsilyl)-9-phenylacridine (L3), have been used to synthesize three neutral [RhCl(H)(L)PPh] (1-L1, 1-L2 and 1-L3) and three cationic [Rh(H)(L)(PPh)][BAr] (2-L1, 2-L2 and 2-L3) Rh(III) complexes.