The Shilov system involves platinum based complexes to produce metal alkyls. It was first discovered when a hydrogen-deuterium exchanged was observed in a deuterated solution with the platinum tetrachloride anion.[2] Shilov et al. then was able to catalytically convert methane into methanol or methyl chloride when a Pt(IV) salt was used as a stoichiometric oxidant. The process is simplified down into three main steps: (1) C-H activation, (2) a redox reaction to form an octahedral intermediate, followed by (3) the formation of the carbon-oxygen bond to form methanol (Figure 3).[3]