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Easily accessible via a simple esterification of alcohols with formic acid, alkyl formates are used as a novel class of transfer hydroalkylation reagents, CO2 acting as a traceless linker. As a proof‐of‐concept, their reactivity in the transfer hydroalkylation of imines is investigated, using a ruthenium‐based catalyst and LiI as promoter to cleave the C−O σ‐bond of the formate scaffold. Providing tertiary amines, the reaction displays a divergent regioselectivity compared to previously reported transfer hydroalkylation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A transfer hydrosilylation of ketones employing silyl formates as hydrosilane surrogates under mild conditions is presented. A total of 24 examples of ketones have been successfully converted to their corresponding silyl ethers with 61–99% yields in the presence of a PNHP-based ruthenium catalyst and silyl formate reagent. The crucial role of the ligand for the transformation is demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]