Trimethylchlorosilane reacts with carbonyl compounds in the presence of zinc to give 0- silylated pinacols, vicinal bis (trimethylsiloxy) alkanes, in good yields via reductive dimerization. This is a very mild route to bis (siloxy) alkanes, which are easily converted to pinacols or pinacolones in excellent yields. Electron-donating groups accelerate coupling while electron-withdrawing groups have an inhibiting effect. Crowcoupling reactions yield ...
