Karstedt’s catalyst is a versatile hydrosilylation catalyst for coupling carbon to silicon in a broad range of research interests. Industrially, the catalyst is usually manufactured by a chloroplatinic acid route. A less-common route starts with poorly-soluble platinum dichloride. The methyl ethyl ketone used in this synthesis is not an inherently good solvent for PtCl<sub>2</sub>. Recent investigations have brought insight into the reaction mechanism, and revealed options to increase the efficiency of the reaction. Monitoring the reaction both in situ and ex situ has increased understanding of the reaction rate, and allowed discovery of both solid and liquid intermediates. These have led to potential route improvements including pre-soaking, milling and additives. Designed experiments resulted in two optimized reaction scenarios. This talk will focus on the resulting reaction improvements as well as the discovery of an intermediate crystalline material and a molecular platinum complex.

Insights and improvements to an alternate route for synthesizing Karstedt's catalyst

Fall 2022 abstracts, posters, and presentations will launch in mid-September.

ACS Fall 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.