A comparative examination of platinum catalysts for the direct hydrosilylation of alkenoic acids

Three platinum sources, Adam’s catalyst, Karstedt’s catalyst, and platinum black, were utilized to mediate the hydrosilylation of alkenoic acids with hydrosilanes. All catalysts exhibited the capacity to mediate hydrosilylation with varying degrees of efficiency, which correlated to the nature of the hydrosilane. The main by-products that were observed were alkene hydrogenation and O-silylation. This work demonstrates the direct hydrosilylation of alkenoic acids with hydrosilanes using platinum catalysts and should begin to dispel the notion that all reactive hydrogens are deleterious to hydrosilylation chemistry.