Trivalent Rare-Earth Metal Amide Complexes as Catalysts for the Hydrosilylation of Benzophenone Derivatives with HN(SiHMe ) by Amine-Exchange Reaction.

The rare-earth metal complexes Ln(L )N(SiHMe ) (Ln=La, Ce, Y; L =N,N''-bis(pentafluorophenyl)diethylenetriamine dianion) were synthesized by treating Ln[N(SiHMe ) ] (thf) with L H . The lanthanum and cerium derivatives are active catalysts for the hydrosilylation of benzophenone derivatives with HN(SiHMe ) . An amine-exchange reaction was revealed as a key step of the catalytic cycle, in which Ln-Si-H β-agostic interactions are proposed to promote insertion of the carbonyl moiety into the Si-H bond.