Vinylsilanes were directly prepared from the corresponding vinyl triflates under magnesium-promoted reductive conditions in THF with no transition metal catalyst, and gem-bis-silylated compounds were obtained in NMP. Investigation of the redox potential of starting materials and products suggested that reductive coupling reactions of vinyl triflates might be controlled by the reduction potential. A variety of gem-bis-silylated compounds and 3-silyladipic acid esters were easily synthesized in only two steps from vinyl triflates in high yields.

Magnesium-promoted reductive introduction of a trifluoroacetyl group to coumarin in the presence of ethyl trifluoroacetate and the subsequent treatment with trifluoroacetic acid led to simple access to a trifluoromethylated benzofurofuranone at 8a-position with a high regio-and stereoselectivity. Trifluoromethylated or difluoromethylated benzofurofuranone derivatives were also prepared from coumarins including naturally occurring ones only in two successive steps, which might have potential bioactivity in medicinal chemistry.

Reductive introduction of a fluorine-containing carbon block to readily available conjugated ynones, followed by intramolecular cyclization, successfully gave the corresponding trifluoromethylated cyclopentenones or trifluoromethylated furans in good yields through a simple two-step protocol. The key compound in carbon-carbon bond formation by magnesium-promoted reduction is ethyl trifluoroacetate, which has been rarely used as a fluorine-containing carbon source, especially to electron-deficient carbon atoms in organic synthesis.

A practical protocol for the regioselective preparation of 3-phenylpropargylsilanes and 3-phenylallylsilanes in yields of 36–77 and 48–86%, respectively, from readily accessible 3-phenylpropargyl and 1-phenylallyl pivalates was developed through reductive C­(sp3)–O bond cleavage. This method represents the first example of the direct application of vastly abundant calcium granules to a reductive coupling reaction. A broad range of propargylsilanes and allylsilanes are simply prepared using easy-to-handle pivalates and chlorotrimethylsilane under mild catalyst-free and additive-free conditions.

Reductive silylation of benzofurans with an electron-withdrawing group by a magnesium metal and the subsequent oxidative rearomatization by DDQ gave the selective formation of less reported 3-silylated benzofurans in moderate to good yields under mild reaction conditions with wide substituent scope. The silyl group introduced on the five-membered ring by the reductive coupling could survive with no elimination throughout the oxidation process. The silylated heteroaromatic skeleton is useful as an intermediate in organic synthesis, and its practical utility was also demonstrated by several transformation reactions.