Metal carbonyls hydrosilation, alkenes

However, the pathways for these reactions, particularly in the gas phase, have been only -.rtially characterized. In a wide variety of these reactions, coordinatively unsaturated, highly reactive metal carbonyls are produced [1-18]. The products of many of these photochemical reactions act as efficient catalysts. For example, Fe(C0)5 can be used to generate an efficient photocatalyst for alkene isomerization, hydrogenation, and hydrosilation reactions [19-23]. Turnover numbers as high as 3000 have been observed for Fe(C0)5 induced photocatalysis [22]. However, in many catalytically active systems, the active intermediate has not been definitively determined. Indeed, it is only recently that significant progress has been made in this area [20-23]. 

The term hydrosilation (or hydrosilylation) refers to the addition of a molecule containing a Si-H bond across the multiple bond of a substrate, usually an alkene, alkyne, or carbonyl compound (equation 1). The reaction can be promoted by UV-light, radiation (y- and X rays), radical initiators, Lewis acids, nucleophiles, or, most importantly, transition metal catalysts. Hydrosilation is related to the important processes of hydrogenation (see Hydrogenation) and hydroboration (see Hydroboration), all of which belong to the general reaction class of hydroelementation. 

Examples of photocatalytic pathways involving metal carbonyls would be alkene hydrogenation and hydrosilation (eq. 1) which are effected by a wide variety of metal carbonyls under photochemical excitation. 

The substituted iron carbonyls Fe(CO)4PPh3 and Fe(CO)3(PPh3)2 have also been examined as photocatalysts for hydrosilation however, the qualitative reactivity features were found to be similar to those of Fe(CO)s [74]. In addition the polymer anchored derivatives Fe(CO)4(PPh2-poly) and Fe(CO)3(PPh2-poly)2 (where PPh2-poly is the polystyrene bound diphenyl phosphine) proved to be effective photocatalysts for lx)th hydrosilation and hydrogenation [74]. Photocatalysis of alkene hydrosilation is also effected by metal carbonyl clusters [61]. 

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