Silylation of O-H bonds by catalytic dehydrogenative and decarboxylative coupling of alcohols with silyl formates.

The silylation of O-H bonds is a useful methodology in organic synthesis and materials science. While this transformation is commonly achieved by reacting alcohols with reactive chlorosilanes or hydrosilanes, we show herein for the first time that silylformates HCOSiR are efficient silylating agents for alcohols, in the presence of a ruthenium molecular catalyst.