REACTION OF SILYL(CARBONYL)IRON COMPLEXES WITH LIALH4 GIVING METHYLSILANES - REDUCTION OF A CARBONYL LIGAND AND COUPLING WITH A SILYL GROUP

Treatment of CpFe(CO)(2)SiR3 (R-3 = (pTol)(2)H, ((p)Tol)(2)Me, MePh(1- Nap); 1-Nap = 1-naphthyl) with LiAlH4 in ether or THF at room temperat ure gave CH3SiR3 as a major product in moderate to high yield. The lab eling experiments using LiAlD4 and CpFe((CO)-C-13)(2)SiR(pTol)(2) (R = H, Me) proved unambiguously that the carbonyl ligand is reduced with LiAlH4 and coupled with the silyl group to give the methylsilane.