Photoinduced Base-Metal Catalyzed sp3-C-Si Bond Activation of Organosilanols to Generate sp3-Carbon-Centered Radicals

An activation paradigm for the sp3-C-Si bond of silanols via a visible-light photoinduced open-shell pathway has been developed with broad substrate scope and good functional group tolerance. It proceeded through base metal catalyzed ligand-to-metal charge-transfer (LMCT) and subsequent β-scission process. It is an example of catalytic sp3-C-Si bond cleavage of silanols. Under mild conditions, various alkyl radicals can be generated from functionalized alkyl-substituted silanols, including tertiary, secondary, and more reactive primary ones.