Catalysed stereodivergent hydrosilylation with Onium Salts stabilised M(0) nanocatalysts prepared in scCO2

Abstract

M(0) nanocatalysts stabilised in Onium Salt were synthesised using an original preparation and their effectiveness in catalysing the challenging selective sterodivergent alkyne hydrosilylation reaction was studied. Four metal based nanocrystals, namely Pt, Ir, Rh and Ru stabilised by three Onium Salts (quaternary ammonium salts with different anions and cations), were successfully prepared by supercritical CO₂ assisted synthesis. The Onium Salts with three different structures were chosen considering their effect on nanocrystals morphology and surface properties but without interference in the selectivity towards hydrosilylation reaction. It was found that the stereochemical outcome can be adjusted either by varying the metal but preserving the same Onium Salt stabilizer, or varying the metal NCs surface properties by changing the stabilizer structure.