C-O hydrogenolysis catalyzed by Pd-PMHS nanoparticles in the company of chloroarenes

Catalytic Pd(OAc)(2) and polymethylhydrosiloxane (PMHS), in conjunction with aqueous KF, and a catalytic amount of an aromatic chloride, effects the chemo-, regio-, and stereoselective deoxygenation of benzylic oxygenated substrates at room temperature in THF. Preliminary mechanistic experiments suggest the process to involve palladium-nanoparticle-catalyzed hydrosilylation followed by C-O reduction. The chloroarene additive appears to facilitate the hydrogenolysis process through the slow controlled release of HCl.