Ruthenium catalyzed selective hydrosilylation of aldehydes

A chemoselective hydrosilylation method for aldehydes is developed using a ruthenium catalyst [(Ru(p-cymene)Cl2)2] and triethylsilane; a mono hydride bridged dinuclear complex [{(η(6)-p-cymene)RuCl}2(μ-H-μ-Cl)] and a Ru(iv) mononuclear dihydride complex [(η(6)-p-cymene)Ru(H)2(SiEt3)2] are identified as potential intermediates in the reaction and the proposed catalytic cycle involves a 1,3-hydride migration.