Selective catalytic monoreduction of dichlorooligosilanes with Grignard reagents

Transition metal-catalyzed monoreduction of dichlorooligosilanes with Grignard reagents is reported. Among the examined catalysts, group 4 metal chlorides such as TiCl4 and Cp2TiCl2 gave the highest reactivity and good selectivity. The reducing power is effectively controlled by changing the catalysts and Grignard reagents to achieve sufficient selectivity depending on the oligosilane substrates.