Regiodivergent Hydrosilylation, Hydrogenation, [2+2]-Cycloaddition and C–H Borylation using Counterion Activated Earth-abundant Metal Catalysis

The widespread adoption of Earth-abundant metal catalysis lags behind that of the second- and third-row transition metals due to the often challenging practical requirements needed to generate the active low oxidation-state catalysts. Here we report the development of a single endogenous activation protocol across five reaction classes using both iron- and cobalt pre-catalysts. This simple catalytic manifold uses commercially available, bench-stable iron- or cobalt tetrafluoroborate salts to perform regiodivergent alkene and alkyne hydrosilylation, 1,3-diene hydrosilylation, hydrogenation, [2π+2π]cycloaddition and C–H borylation. The activation protocol proceeds by fluoride dissociation from the counterion, in situ formation of a hydridic activator and generation of a low oxidation-state catalyst.