Cobalt-Catalyzed Cyclization/Hydrosilylation Reaction of 1,6-Diynes Enabled by an Oxidative Cyclization–Hydrosilylation Mechanism

Transition-metal-catalyzed cyclization/hydrosilylation of 1,6-diynes is a useful method for the preparation of five-membered ring-fused silyl dienes that are useful reagents in organic synthesis. Only a handful of noble metal catalysts facilitating this transformation are known, and nonprecious metal catalysts effecting the reaction have remained elusive. Herein, we report that low-coordinate Co(0)-N-heterocyclic carbene complexes can catalyze the cyclization/hydrosilylation of 1,6-diynes with tertiary and secondary hydrosilanes, furnishing five-membered ring-fused (Z)-1-silyldienes in good yields and excellent stereoselectivity. Mechanistic study disclosed that the catalytic cycle likely has oxidative cyclization of 1,6-diynes with Co(0) species as the key step. This mechanism accounts for the high stereoselectivity and absence of uncyclized hydrosilylation byproducts in the cobalt-catalyzed cyclization/hydrosilylation reaction, which is different from the hydrosilylation-cyclization mechanism of the noble metal-catalyzed reactions.