Silyl Anions

Isolable T-Shaped Planar Silyl Anion

Silyl anions have garnered significant attention due to their synthetic abilities. However, previously reported silyl anions have been limited to either trigonal-pyramidal or trigonal-planar geometries, which confine them primarily as nucleophiles in substitution reactions. Herein, we report the isolation of the unprecedented T-shaped planar silyl anion salt 2 by employment of a geometrically constrained triamido pincer ligand. Theoretical calculations disclosed that the silicon centre in 2 possesses both a lone pair of electrons and an empty 3pz orbital. In addition to nucleophilic substitution reactions with Ph3PAuCl and W(CO)6, 2 readily undergoes oxidative additions with CO2 and 2,6-dimethylphenylisonitrile at room temperature. Furthermore, under mild conditions, compound 2 cleaves Csp2-H, Csp2-H, and H-H bonds in 1,2,4,5-tetrafluorobenzene, an intramolecular iPr group, and dihydrogen, representing the first examples of C-H and H-H activations mediated by a silyl anion, respectively. This work unveils new reactivity of silyl anions owing to the non-classical geometry and electronic structure.

Stereospecific synthesis of silicon-stereogenic optically active silylboranes and general synthesis of chiral silyl Anions

Silicon-stereogenic optically active silylboranes could potentially allow the formation of chiral silyl nucleophiles as well as the synthesis of various chiral silicon compounds. However, the synthesis of such silicon-stereogenic silylboranes has not been achieved so far. Here, we report the synthesis of silicon-stereogenic optically active silylboranes via a stereospecific Pt(PPh3)4-catalyzed Si-H borylation of chiral hydrosilanes, which are synthesized by stoichiometric and catalytic asymmetric synthesis, in high yield and very high or perfect enantiospecificity (99% es in one case, and >99% es in the others) with retention of the configuration. Furthermore, we report a practical approach to generate silicon-stereogenic silyl nucleophiles with high enantiopurity and configurational stability using MeLi activation. This protocol is suitable for the stereospecific and general synthesis of silicon-stereogenic trialkyl-, dialkylbenzyl-, dialkylaryl-, diarylalkyl-, and alkylary benzyloxy-substituted silylboranes and their corresponding silyl nucleophiles with excellent enantiospecificity (>99% es except one case of 99% es). Transition-metal-catalyzed C-Si bond-forming cross-coupling reactions and conjugate-addition reactions are also demonstrated. The mechanisms underlying the stability and reactivity of such chiral silyl anion were investigated by combining NMR spectroscopy and DFT calculations.

Facile preparation of organosilanes from benzylboronates and gem-diborylalkanes mediated by KOtBu

Methods to efficiently synthesize organosilanes are valuable in the fields of synthetic chemistry and materials science. During the past decades, boron conversion has become a generic and powerful approach for constructing carbon-carbon and other carbon-heteroatom bonds, but its potential application in forming carbon-silicon remains unexplored. Herein, we describe an alkoxide base-promoted deborylative silylation of benzylic organoboronates, geminal bis(boronates) or alkyltriboronates, allowing for straightforward access to synthetically valuable organosilanes. This selective deborylative methodology exhibits operational simplicity, broad substrate scope, excellent functional group compatibility and convenient scalability, providing an effective and complementary platform for the generation of diversified benzyl silanes and silylboronates. Detailed experimental results and calculated studies revealed an unusual mechanistic feature of this C-Si bond formation.

Metallacyclosilanes of Calcium, Yttrium, and Iron

Utilizing a choice of α,ω-oligosilanylene diides, it is possible to synthesize a number of heterocyclosilanes with heteroelements of calcium, yttrium, and iron by metathesis reactions with respective metal halides CaI₂, YCl₃, and FeBr₂. ²⁹Si NMR spectroscopic analysis of the calcacyclosilanes suggests that these compounds retain a strong oligosilanylene dianion character, which is more pronounced than in the analogous magnesacyclosilanes. As the electronegativity of calcium lies between potassium and magnesium, silyl calcium reagents should be considered as building blocks with an attractive reactivity profile. Reaction of a 1,4-oligosilanylene diide with YCl₃ gave the five-membered yttracyclosilane as an ate-complex with two chlorides still attached to the yttrium atom. Reaction of the obtained compound with two equivalents of NaCp led to another five-membered yttracyclosilane ate-complex with an yttracene fragment. When using a dianionic oligosilanylene ligand containing a siloxane unit, the siloxane oxygen acted as an additional coordination site for Ca and Y. When the same ligand was used to prepare a cyclic 1-ferra-4-oxatetrasilacyclohexane, an analogous transannular interaction between the iron and oxygen atoms is missing.

Reactions of some α,ω-oligosilanylene diides with CaI₂, YCl₃, and FeBr₂ allow convenient access to metallocyclosilanes with Ca, Y, and Fe as heteroatoms. The calcium and yttrium compounds resemble previously prepared magnesacyclosilanes, retaining a strong silanide character. The only related compounds to the described ferracyclosilanes are acyclic examples.

HMPA-Free Generation of Trialkylsilyllithium Reagents and Its Applications to the Synthesis of Silylboronic Esters

Trialkylsilyllithium species have turned out to be facilely generated by treating hexaalkyldisilanes with methyllithium in the presence of tris(N,N-tetramethylene)phosphoric triamide (TPPA) as an activator, which can be trapped by boron electrophiles to afford silylboronic esters including long-awaited Me3Si–B(pin).

Stereocontrolled Syntheses of Functionalized cis- and trans-Siladecalins

We report the synthesis of both diastereomers of an all-silicon analog of decalin. Carbocyclic decalin is a ubiquitous bicyclic structural motif. The siladecalin synthesis provides materials functionalized with either Si-Ph or Si-H groups, versatile entry points for further chemical diversification. The synthesis of silicon-stereogenic silanes is significantly less precedented than the synthesis of asymmetric carbon centers, and strategies for control of relative stereochemistry in oligosilanes are hardly described. This study offers insights of potential generality, such as the epimerization of the cis-isomer to the thermodynamically downhill trans-isomer via a hypothesized pentavalent intermediate. Decalin is a classic example in the conformational analysis of organic ring systems, and the carbocyclic diastereomers have highly divergent conformational profiles. Like the carbocycle, we observe different conformational properties in cis- and trans-siladecalins with consequences for NMR spectroscopy, optical properties, and vibrational spectroscopy. This study showcases the utility of targeted synthesis for preparing complex and functionalized polycyclic silanes.

β-Amino- and Alkoxy-Substituted Disilanides

Our recent study on formal halide adducts of disilenes led to the investigation of the synthesis and properties of β-fluoro- and chlorodisilanides. The reaction of the functionalized neopentasilanes (Me3Si)3SiSiPh2NEt2 and (Me3Si)3SiSiMe2OMe with KOtBu in the presence of 18-crown-6 provided access to structurally related β-alkoxy- and amino-substituted disilanides. The obtained Et2NPh2Si(Me3Si)2SiK·18-crown-6 was converted to a magnesium silanide and further on to Et2NPh2Si(Me3Si)2Si-substituted ziroconocene and hafnocene chlorides. In addition, an example of a silanide containing both Et2NPh2Si and FPh2Si groups was prepared with moderate selectivity. Also, the analogous germanide Et2NPh2Si(Me3Si)2GeK·18-crown-6 could be obtained.

Disilene Fluoride Adducts versus β-Halooligosilanides

Extending the chemistry of disilene fluoride adducts studied earlier by us, we investigated the formation of 1,1-bis(trimethylsilyl)fluorodiphenylsilylsilanide, which was prepared by reaction of (Me₃Si)₃SiSiPh₂F with KO^tBu. The formed FPh₂SiSi(Me₃Si)₂K displays distinctively different structural and spectroscopic features compared to the earlier reported F(Me₃Si)₂SiSi(SiMe₃)₂K. While the latter eliminates metal fluoride upon reaction with MgBr₂, the respective magnesium silanide is formed from FPh₂SiSi(Me₃Si)₂K. Reaction of (Me₃Si)₃SiSiPh₂Cl with KO^tBu proceeded similarly, but the formed ClPh₂SiSi(Me₃Si)₂K easily undergoes potassium chloride elimination to the disilene Ph₂Si═Si(SiMe₃)₂. Compared to F(Me₃Si)₂SiSi(SiMe₃)₂K, which can be regarded as a disilene fluoride adduct, structural, spectroscopic, and reactivity properties of FPh₂SiSi(Me₃Si)₂K distinguish it as a β-fluorodisilanide.

Synthesis and structure of the donor-free potassium silanide K[SiPh3]

The donor-free potassium silanide K[SiPh3] was prepared by the reaction of hexaphenyldisilane, Ph3Si–SiPh3, with potassium metal in benzene at room temperature. The solid-state structure, determined by powder X-ray diffraction consists of {K[SiPh3]}2units, which interact with adjacent dimers to form an infinite chain along the crystallographiccaxis (orthorhombic, space groupCmc21,Z=4). The structure features short contacts between the π system of the phenyl rings and the potassium atoms of neighbouring K[SiPh3] units.

Synthesis of N-Heterocycle Substituted Silyl Ligands within the Coordination Sphere of Iron

N-Heterocycle-substituted silyl iron complexes have been synthesized by nucleophilic substitution at trichlorosilyl ligands bound to iron. The homoleptic (tripyrrolyl)- and tris(3-methylindolyl)silyl groups were accessed from (Cl₃Si)CpFe(CO)₂ (Cl₃SiFp) by substitution of chloride with pyrrolide or 3-methylindolide, respectively. Analogously, nucleophilic substitution of Cl with pyrrolide on the anionic Fe(0) synthon Cl₃SiFe(CO)₄ ^- generates the (tripyrrolyl)silyl ligand, bound to the iron tetracarbonyl fragment. The bulkier 2-mesitylpyrrolide substitutes a maximum of 2 chlorides on Cl₃SiFp under the same conditions. The tridentate, trianionic nucleophile tmim (tmimH₃ = tris(3-methylindol-2-yl)methane) proves reluctant to perform the substitution in a straightforward manner; instead, ring-opening and incorporation of THF occurs to form the tris-THF adduct tmim(C₄H₈O)₃SiFe(CO)₄ ^-. The bidentate, monoanionic nucleophile 2-(dipp-iminomethyl)pyrrolide (^DippIMP, dipp = 2,6-diisopropylphenyl) shows chloride displacement and addition of a second ^DippIMP moiety on the imine backbone. The heterocycle-based silyl ligands were shown to be sterically and electronically tunable, moderately electron-donating ligands. The presented approach to new silyl ligands avoids strongly reducing conditions and potentially reactive hydrosilane intermediates.

Synthesis, structure, and reactivity of zwitterionic divalent rare-earth metal silanides

The synthesis and structures of the first zwitterionic divalent rare-earth metal silanides of the formula [Si(SiMe2OMe)3-κ(3)]2M (M-3), where M = Eu, Yb, and Sm, are reported. M-3 compounds feature spirocyclic bicyclooctane structures in which the central rare-earth metal ions are being octahedrally coordinated by six methoxy groups. The reaction of Yb-3 with BPh3 and W(CO)6 respectively generated the trinuclear zwitterions [Ph3BSi(SiMe2OMe)3-κ(3)]2Yb (Yb-4) and [(CO)5WSi(SiMe2OMe)3-κ(3)]2Yb (Yb-5) in good yield.

Stable Silenolates and Brook-Type Silenes with Exocyclic Structures

The first silenolates with exocyclic structures [(Me₃Si)₂Si(Si₂Me₄)₂SiC(R)O]⁻K⁺ (2a: R = 1-adamantyl; 2b: mesityl; 2c: o-tolyl) were synthesized by the reaction of the corresponding acylcyclohexasilanes 1a–c with KOtBu. NMR spectroscopy and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis suggest that the aryl-substituted silenolates 2b,c exhibit increased character of functionalized silenes as compared to the alkyl-substituted derivative 2a due to the different coordination of the K⁺ counterion to the SiC(R)O moiety. 2b,c, thus, reacted with ClSiiPr₃ to give the exocyclic silenes (Me₃Si)₂Si(Si₂Me₄)₂Si=C(OSiiPr₃)R (3b: R = Mes; 3c: o-Tol), while 2a afforded the Si-silylated acylcyclohexasilane 1d. The thermally remarkably stable compound 3b, which is the first isolated silene with the sp² silicon atom incorporated into a cyclopolysilane framework, could be fully characterized structurally and spectroscopically.

Synthesis and characterisation of novel o-xylene-based P,E ligands

A range of novel hybrid ligands of the type, o-C6H4(CH2PBu(t)2)(CH2E) (E = P(C6F5)2, SBu(t), SPh, S(O)Bu(t), NR2, SiPh2H), have been synthesised in two or three steps from the common substrate, o-C6H4{CH2PBu(t)2(BH3)}(CH2Cl). The initial step involved treatment of the substrate with the appropriate nucleophilic reagent, or preparation of a Grignard reagent from o-C6H4{CH2PBu(t)2(BH3)}(CH2Cl) and reaction with the appropriate electrophile. In most cases, this versatile strategy produced air-stable crystalline ligand precursors. Phosphine deprotection was achieved via one of three methods, dependent upon the properties of the second functional group. An alternative synthesis of the known ligand, o-C6H4(CH2PBu(t)2)(CH2PPh2), is also presented.

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 and characterization of heterocyclic disilylchalcogenides

The reaction of a dipotassium silyl dianion (1) with chalcogenide elements (E) does not afford the corresponding silylchalcogenolates, but allows the generation of a series of heterocyclic disilylchalcogenides (E = S (2), Se (3), Te (4)). Under high temperature, compound 4 can be converted into compound 5, a Te analog of compounds 2 and 3. The compounds were characterized by (1)H, (13)C and (29)Si NMR spectroscopy and high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). In addition, X-ray structure analyses were carried out on compounds 2-5. A DFT calculation was also performed.

The competition between Si-Si and Si-C cleavage in functionalised oligosilanes: their reactivity with elemental lithium

The reaction of aryl-substituted disilanes with elemental lithium is a common method for the preparation of lithiosilanes and the subsequent synthesis of functionalised oligosilanes, especially of enantiomerically pure compounds. A series of alkyl- and arylsubstituted di- and trisilanes has been investigated with respect to their reactivity against elemental lithium. Thereby, depending on the substituents, silicon-silicon bond cleavage of the central Si-Si unit and/or silicon-carbon bond cleavage to arenes are observed. Quantum chemical studies provide a deeper insight into the ongoing processes. The reactive centre can be estimated by both, bond elongation after electron transfer and frontier orbital interactions (pi-bonding and sigma-antibonding part). Aromatic substituents at the silicon atoms proved to be necessary for the processing of any cleavage reaction in the studied systems by stabilising the radical anion after electron transfer at the corresponding di- or trisilane. Yet, selective cleavage reactions do not depend on the number of arenes.

Synthesis of benzo[b]siloles via KH-promoted cyclization of (2-alkynylphenyl)silanes

(2-Alkynylphenyl)silanes undergo intramolecular cyclization in the presence of an excess or a subequimolar amount of potassium hydride to give a variety of new 2-substituted benzosiloles in good to excellent yields. Some of these compounds showed a high fluorescence quantum yield both in solution and in the solid state, and they also showed reversible reduction in THF.