The catalytic activity of alkali metal alkoxides and titanium alkoxides in the hydrosilylation of unfunctionalized olefins

The catalytic activities of titanium alkoxides and alkali metal alkoxides for hydrosilylation of unfunctionalized olefins have been studied. Titanium(IV) alkoxides showed excellent catalytic activity, while alkali metal alkoxides have low catalytic activity for the hydrosilylation of olefins. However, by using titanocene dichloride as an additive, alkali metal alkoxides showed also excellent catalytic property for hydrosilylation. In comparison with titanium alkoxides, no α-adduct was obtained by using alkali metal alkoxides/Cp2TiCl2 as catalysts.