Silyl- and Germyl-Substituted Boranes: Synthesis and Investigation as Potential Atomic Layer Deposition Precursors

Boranes featuring bulky hypersilyl or supersilyl groups and/or sterically unencumbered trimethylgermyl substituents were synthesized for investigation as potential precursors for atomic layer deposition (ALD) of elemental boron. The envisaged ALD process would employ a boron trihalide coreactant, exploiting the formation of strong silicon-halogen and germanium-halogen bonds as a driving force. The alkali metal silyl and germyl compounds hypersilyl lithium, {(Me3Si)3Si}Li(THF)3 (1), supersilyl sodium, (tBu3Si)Na(THF)n (2, n = 2-3), and trimethylgermyl lithium, {Me3GeLi(THF)2}2 (3), were used for the synthesis of the silyl- and germyl-substituted boranes in this work. Compounds 1 and 2 were synthesized as previously reported, and compound 3 was isolated from the reaction of trimethylgermane with tert-butyl lithium. Compounds 2 and 3 were crystallographically characterized. Reaction of B(NMe2)Cl2 with 2 equiv of 1 afforded previously reported {(Me3Si)3Si}2B(NMe2) (4), whereas reactions of B(NMe2)Cl2 or {B(NMe2)F2}2 with excess 2 only afforded the monosilyl boranes (tBu3Si)B(NMe2)X {X = Cl (5) and F (6)}. Reaction of 5 with 0.5 equiv of {Me3GeLi(THF)2}2 (3) provided the first example of a mixed silyl/germyl-substituted borane, (tBu3Si)(Me3Ge)B(NMe2) (7). Attempts to synthesize (Me3Ge)2B(NMe2) from the 1:1 reaction of B(NMe2)Cl2 with {Me3GeLi(THF)2}2 afforded a mixture of two major products, one of which was identified as the tri(germyl)(amido)borate {(Me3Ge)3B(NMe2)}Li(THF)2 (8); compound 8 was isolated from the 1:1.5 reaction. Reaction of more sterically encumbered B(TMP)Cl2 with 1 equiv of {Me3GeLi(THF)2}2 afforded the di(germyl)(amido)borane (Me3Ge)2B(TMP) (9). Boranes 4, 7, and 9 and borate 8 were crystallographically characterized. The thermal stability and volatility of boranes 4, 7, and 9 was evaluated, the solution reactivity of 4 and 7 with boron trihalides was assessed, and ALD was attempted using 4 in combination with BCl3 and BBr3 at 150 and 300 °C.

From polygons to polyhedra through intermediate structures. A shape measures study of six-atom inorganic rings and clusters

Among the wealth of well-established molecular structures, inorganic rings and clusters present an overwhelming variety of geometries that chemists try to describe with a limited assortment of regular polygons and polyhedra. In the case of six-atom structures we usually employ the hexagon, the pentagonal pyramid, the trigonal prism and the octahedron. More often than not, however, real world structures deviate from those ideal geometries, and we try to cope with non-ideality by adding adjectives such as distorted, twisted, puckered or flattened, additionally nuanced by adverbs such as slightly, significantly or severely. This contribution presents a systematic structural perspective of six-atom groups in molecules by means of a continuous shape measures (CShM) analysis. The shape of a group of N points is defined by all the sets of 3 N Cartesian coordinates that can be generated by rigid translation, rotation, or isotropic scale change. Among all possible arrangements of N points in space, we select as reference shapes the corresponding regular N-vertex polygons and polyhedra, together with univocally defined combinations thereof (e.g., two coplanar or perpendicular edge-sharing squares). The present CShM study allows us to classify most of the structures not only by their closeness to a particular regular shape, but also by quantifying their position along minimal distortion interconversion pathways between two regular shapes.

Deprotonation of Organogermanium and Organotin Trihydrides

Terphenyltin and terphenylgermanium trihydrides were deprotonated in reaction with strong bases, such as LiMe, LDA, or KBn. In the solid state, the Li salts of the germate anion 4 and 4a exhibit a Li-Ge contact. In the Li salt of the dihydridostannate anion 6a, the Li cation is not coordinated at the tin atom instead an interaction of the Li cation with the hydride substituents was found. Evidenced by ¹H-⁷Li-HOESY NMR spectroscopy the Li-salt of the deprotonated tin hydride 6a exhibits in toluene solution a contact between Li cation and hydride substituents, whereas in the ¹H-⁷Li-HOESY NMR spectrum of the homologous germate salt 4a, no crosspeak between hydride and Li signals was found. The organodihydridogermate and -stannate react as nucleophiles with low-valent Group 14 electrophiles. Thus, three compounds were synthesized: Ar-Ë'-EH₂-Ar (E', E = Sn, Ge; Pb, Ge; Pb, Sn; Ar = Ar', Ar*). Following an alternative synthesis Ar'SnH₂PbAr* was synthesized in reaction between [(Ar*PbH)₂] and [(Ar'SnH)₄] generated in situ. In reaction between low-valent organotin hydride [(Ar*SnH)₂] and organdihydridostannate [Ar*SnH₂]^- formation of distannate [Ar*₂Sn₂H₃]^- was found.

Crown ether adducts of light alkali metal triphenylsilyls: synthesis, structure and hydrosilylation catalysis

Alkali metal triphenylsilyls [Li(12-crown-4)SiPh₃]·(thf)_0.5, [Na(15-crown-5)SiPh₃]·(thf)_0.5 and [K(18-crown-6)SiPh₃(thf)] were synthesized using 1,1,1-trimethyl-2,2,2-triphenyldisilane and shown to catalyze the regioselective hydrosilylation of 1,1-diphenylethene.

Synthesis, reactivity, and electronic structure of [n]vanadoarenophanes: an experimental and theoretical study

An optimized procedure for the selective dimetalation of [V(eta (6)-C 6H 6) 2] by BuLi/tmeda allowed for the isolation and characterization of [V(eta (6)-C 6H 5Li) 2].tmeda. X-ray diffraction of its thf solvate [V(eta (6)-C 6H 5Li) 2].(thf) 7 revealed an unsymmetrical, dimeric composition in the solid state, in which both subunits are connected by three bridging lithium atoms. Treatment with several element dihalides facilitated the isolation of [ n]vanadoarenophanes ( n = 1, 2) with boron and silicon in the bridging positions. In agreement with the number and covalent radii of the bridging elements, these derivatives exhibit molecular ring strain to a greater or lesser extent. The B-B bond of the [2]bora species [V(eta (6)-C 6H 5) 2B 2(NMe 2) 2] was readily cleaved by [Pt(PEt 3) 3] to afford the corresponding oxidative addition product. Subsequently, [V(eta (6)-C 6H 5) 2B 2(NMe 2) 2] was employed as a diborane(4) precursor in the diboration of 2-butyne under stoichiometric, homogeneous, and heterogeneous catalysis conditions. This transformation is facilitated by the reduction of molecular ring strain, which was confirmed by a decrease of the tilt angle alpha observed in the corresponding solid-state structures. EPR spectroscopy was used to probe the electronic structure of strained [ n]vanadoarenophanes and revealed an obvious correlation between the degree of molecular distortion and the observed hyperfine coupling constant a iso. State-of-the-art DFT calculations were able to reproduce the measured isotropic vanadium hyperfine couplings and the coupling anisotropies. The calculations confirmed the decrease of the absolute isotropic hyperfine couplings with increasing tilt angle. Closer analysis showed that this is mainly due to increased positive contributions to the spin density at the vanadium nucleus from the spin polarization of doubly occupied valence orbitals of vanadium-ligand sigma-antibonding character. The latter are destabilized and thus made more polarizable in the bent structures.

Dilithiation of Bis(benzene)molybdenum and Subsequent Isolation of a Molybdenum-Containing Paracyclophane

The homoleptic sandwich complex bis(benzene)molybdenum, [Mo(eta6-C6H6)2], was successfully dilithiated by employing an excess of BuLi in the presence of N,N,N',N'-tetramethylethylenediamine (up to 6 equiv each) at slightly elevated temperatures furnishing the highly reactive, ring metalated species [Mo(eta6-C6H5Li)2].tmeda in high yields. Alternatively, this compound was synthesized upon prolonged sonication with 5 equiv of tBuLi/tmeda without heating. An X-ray crystal structure determination revealed a symmetrical, dimeric composition in the solid state, i.e., a formula of [Mo(eta6-C6H5Li)2]2.(thf)6, where the six-membered rings are connected by two pairs of bridging lithium atoms. The synthesis of an elusive ansa-bridged complex failed in the case of a [1]bora and a [1]sila bridge due to the thermal lability of the resulting compounds. Instead, reverse addition of the dilithio precursor to an excess of the appropriate element dihalide facilitated the isolation of several unstrained, 1,1'-disubstituted derivatives, namely, [Mo{eta6-C6H5(BN(SiMe3)2X)}2] (X = Cl, Br) and [Mo{eta6-C6H5(SiiPr2Cl)}2], respectively. However, the incorporation of a less congesting [2]sila bridge was accomplished. In addition to the formation of [Mo{(eta6-C6H5)2Si2Me4}], a molybdenum-containing paracylophane complex was isolated and characterized by means of crystal structure analysis. The ancillary formation of 1 equiv of bis(benzene)molybdenum strongly suggests that this species is generated by deprotonation of the ansa-bridged complex by the dilithiated precursor and subsequent reaction with a second equivalent of the disilane.