Hydrosilane cleavage reactions accelerated by tartaric acid and dimethyl sulphoxide

Tartaric acid reacts spontaneously with triethoxysilane (HTES) liberating hydrogen gas, but alkyl- or arylhydrosilanes are essentially inert under these conditions. Other α-hydroxyacids reacted similarly with HTES. The reaction of tartaric acid in tetrahydrofuran is a second order process, consistent with a reaction pathway involving first transesterification of HTES by tartaric acid and subsequent SiH cleavage. In dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) …