Multiple bonds to silicon: 20 years later

Applications of low-valent compounds with heavy group-14 elements

Over the last two decades, the low-valent compounds of group-14 elements have received significant attention in several fields of chemistry owing to their unique electronic properties. The low-valent group-14 species include tetrylenes, tetryliumylidene, tetrylones, dimetallenes and dimetallynes. These low-valent group-14 species have shown applications in various areas such as organic transformations (hydroboration, cyanosilylation, N-functionalisation of amines, and hydroamination), small molecule activation (e.g. P4, As4, CO2, CO, H2, alkene, and alkyne) and materials. This review presents an in-depth discussion on low-valent group-14 species-catalyzed reactions, including polymerization of rac-lactide, L-lactide, DL-lactide, and caprolactone, followed by their photophysical properties (phosphorescence and fluorescence), thin film deposition (atomic layer deposition and vapor phase deposition), and medicinal applications. This review concisely summarizes current developments of low-valent heavier group-14 compounds, covering synthetic methodologies, structural aspects, and their applications in various fields of chemistry. Finally, their opportunities and challenges are examined and emphasized.

Rhodium-Mediated Dehydrogenation of Hydroboranes and Group 14 Compounds: Base-Stabilized Silylene and Germylene Complexes vs. Transmetalation

Monocarbonyl rhodium complex LRh(CO), 1, which is stabilized by a pyrrole-based bis(phosphinimine) pincer ligand (L=κ3 -NNN'=2,5-[i Pr2 P=N(4-i PrC6 H4 )]2 -N'(C4 H2 )- ), serves as a versatile platform for the dehydrogenation of group 14 substrates. Reaction with primary and secondary silanes and germanes (MesSiH3 , Et2 SiH2 , Ph2 GeH2 , t BuGeH3 ; Mes=mesityl) liberates H2 and yields base-stabilized tetrylene compounds of the form κ2 -L(CO)Rh(ER2 ) (E=Si: R=Mes, H, 2; R=Et, 5; E=Ge: R=Ph, 6; R=t Bu, H, 8). The ":ER2 " fragment in these species bridges between the rhodium center and a phosphinimine donor. Preliminary reactions between pinacol (Pin) and κ2 -L(CO)Rh(ER2 ), E=Si, Ge, indicate that such complexes can serve as silylene and germylene synthons, releasing :ER2 and catalytically generating PinER2 . In contrast, combination of complex 1 and MesGeH3 does not yield the anticipated dehydrogenation product, but rather, transmetalation similar to that observed upon reaction between 1 and 3,5-dimethylphenylborane prevails.

Stretched Central Double Bonds in Dialumene and Disilene by Amino Substituents: A Case of Lone Pair Repulsion

There have been remarkable advances in the syntheses and applications of groups 13 and 14 homonuclear ethene analogues. However, successes are largely limited to aryl- and/or silyl-substituted species. Analogues bearing two or more heteroatoms are still scarce. In this work, the block-localized wavefunction (BLW) method at the density functional theory (DFT) level was employed to study dialumene and disilene bearing two amino substituents whose optimal geometries exhibit significantly stretched central M=M (M=Al or Si) double bonds compared with aryl- and/or silyl-substituted species. Computational analyses showed that the repulsion between the lone electron pairs of amino substituents and M=M π bond plays a critical role in the elongation of the M=M bonds. Evidently, replacing the substituent groups -NH2 with -BH2 can enhance the planarity and shorten the central double bonds due to the absence of lone pair electrons in BH2 .

Polysilyne chains bridged with beryllium lead to flat 2D Dirac materials

Polysilyne with repeating disilyne units, a silicon analogue of polyacetylene, has a high potential for application to various novel silicon-based electronic devices because of the unique properties of Si=Si units with a smaller HOMO-LUMO energy gap than that of C=C units. However, one-dimensional (1D) polysilyne has not been synthesized yet. Here we propose a planar and air-stable two-dimensional (2D) silicon-based material with one-atom thickness consisting of beryllium-bridged 1D all-trans polysilyne, based on the first-principles calculations. The flat structure of 1D polysilyne, which is essential for the air stability of silicon π-electron conjugated systems, is realized by embedding polysilyne in a planar sheet. It was found that the 2D crystal optimized at the rhombus unit cell with the D2h group symmetry is a silicon-based Dirac semimetal with linear dispersion at the Fermi energy and hosts anisotropic Dirac fermions.

Unveiling the effect of 2D silagraphene structural diversity on electronic properties: DFT, DOS, and ELF studies

Recently, fully π-functional two-dimensional (2D) materials have been reported for electronic device applications. Graphene is one of these 2D materials that is attributed to 2D electron confinement effects and exhibits an aromatic character; however, it is characterized by vanishing the bandgap energy. Hence, research was focused on the discovery of graphene-based 2D materials to reduce the bandgap energy. Herein, we investigate the silagraphene structures (Si_xC_y) using DFT calculations to undertake and improve structural, physico-chemical, and electronic properties. Various types of 2D networks have been investigated by considering C-C and C-Si bonds in relative positions. Both conjugation and hyperconjugation phenomenon have been deeply examined and it seemed that they take advantage of each other depending on the C-C and C-Si bond positions. Localized orbital locator (LOL) and electron localization function (ELF) were also performed to examine the electronic densities in the investigated 2D networks and unveil the electronic properties of the studied materials.

Versatile Fe-Sn Bonding Interactions in a Metallostannylene System: Multiple Bonding and C-H Bond Activation

The metallostannylene Cp*(iPr2MeP)(H)2Fe-SnDMP (1; Cp* = η5-C5Me5; DMP = 2,6-dimesitylphenyl), formed by hydrogen migration in a putative Cp*(iPr2MeP)HFe[Sn(H)DMP] intermediate, serves as a robust platform for exploration of transition-metal main-group element bonding and reactivity. Upon one-electron oxidation, 1 expels H2 to generate the coordinatively unsaturated [Cp*(iPr2MeP)Fe═SnDMP][B(C6F5)4] (3), which possesses a highly polarized Fe-Sn multiple bond that involves interaction of the tin lone pair with iron. Evidence from EPR and 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy, along with DFT studies, shows that 3 is primarily an iron-based radical with charge localization at tin. Upon reduction of 3, C-H bond activation of the phosphine ligand was observed to produce Cp*HFe(κ2-(P,Sn)═Sn(DMP)CH2CHMePMeiPr) (5). Complex 5 was also accessed via thermolysis of 1, and kinetics studies of this thermolytic pathway indicate that the reductive elimination of H2 from 1 to produce a stannylyne intermediate, Cp*(iPr2MeP)Fe[SnDMP] (A), is likely rate-determining. Evidence indicates that the production of 5 proceeds through a concerted C-H bond activation. DFT investigations suggest that the transition state for this transformation involves C-H cleavage across the Fe-Sn bond and that a related transition state where C-H bond activation occurs exclusively at the tin center is disfavored, illustrating an effect of iron-tin cooperativity in this system.

On the Potential of Silicon as a Building Block for Life

Despite more than one hundred years of work on organosilicon chemistry, the basis for the plausibility of silicon-based life has never been systematically addressed nor objectively reviewed. We provide a comprehensive assessment of the possibility of silicon-based biochemistry, based on a review of what is known and what has been modeled, even including speculative work. We assess whether or not silicon chemistry meets the requirements for chemical diversity and reactivity as compared to carbon. To expand the possibility of plausible silicon biochemistry, we explore silicon's chemical complexity in diverse solvents found in planetary environments, including water, cryosolvents, and sulfuric acid. In no environment is a life based primarily around silicon chemistry a plausible option. We find that in a water-rich environment silicon's chemical capacity is highly limited due to ubiquitous silica formation; silicon can likely only be used as a rare and specialized heteroatom. Cryosolvents (e.g., liquid N2) provide extremely low solubility of all molecules, including organosilicons. Sulfuric acid, surprisingly, appears to be able to support a much larger diversity of organosilicon chemistry than water.

Sila-Peterson Reaction of Cyclic Silanides

Sila-Peterson type reactions of the 1,4,4-tris(trimethylsilyl)-1-metallooctamethylcyclohexasilanes (Me₃Si)₂Si₆Me₈(SiMe₃)M (2a, M = Li; 2b, M = K) with various ketones were investigated. The obtained products strongly depend on the nature of the ketone component. With 2-adamantanone 2a,b afforded the moderately stable silene 3. 3 is the first example of an Apeloig–Ishikawa–Oehme-type silene with the tricoordinate silicon atom incorporated into a cyclopolysilane framework and could be characterized by NMR and UV spectroscopy as well as by trapping reactions with water, methanol, and MeLi. The reaction of 2b with aromatic ketones also follows a sila-Peterson type mechanism with formation of carbanionic species. With 1,2-diphenylcyclopropenone 2b reacted by conjugate 1,4-addition to give a spirocyclic carbanion. In most cases the underlying reaction mechanism could be elucidated by the isolation and characterization of unstable intermediates and final products after proper derivatization.

Heterodiatomic Multiple Bonding in Group 13: A Complex with a Boron-Aluminum π Bond Reduces CO2

Heterodiatomic multiple bonds have never been observed within Group 13. Herein, we disclose a method that generates [(CAAC)PhB=AlCp^3t ] (1), a complex featuring π bonding between boron and aluminum through the association of singlet fragments. We present the properties of this multiple bond as well as the reactivity of the complex with carbon dioxide, which yields a boron CO complex via an unusual metathesis reaction.

Functional Disilenes in Synthesis

Functionalized disilenes are valuable auxiliary tools in preparative chemistry. In the following review the various synthetic potential of disilenes as precursors is presented. Upon consumption of the Si=Si unit in disilenes, cyclic, polycyclic and cluster-like arrangements are obtainable.

Reactivity studies of an imine-functionalised phosphaalkene; unusual electrostatic and supramolecular stabilisation of a σ2λ3-phosphorus motif via hydrogen bonding

Protonation with strong acids at an imine over addition to a phosphaalkene; resulting adducts display hydrogen bonding.

A mechanistic study of the addition of alcohol to a five-membered ring silene via a photochemical reaction

The mechanism for the photochemical rearrangement of a cyclic divinyldisilane (1-Si) in its first excited state ((1)π → (1)π*) is determined using the CAS/6-311G(d) and MP2-CAS/6-311++G(3df,3pd) levels of theory. The photoproduct, a cyclic silene, reacts with various alcohols to yield a mixture of cis- and trans- adducts. The two reaction pathways are denoted as the cis- addition path (path A) and the trans-addition path (path B). These model studies demonstrate that conical intersections play a crucial role in the photo-rearrangements of cyclic divinyldisilanes. The theoretical evidence also demonstrates that the addition of alcohol to a cyclic divinyldisilane follows the reaction path: cyclic divinyldisilane → Franck-Condon region → conical intersection → photoproduct (cyclic silene) → local intermediate (with alcohol) → transition state → cis- or trans-adduct. The theoretical studies demonstrate that the steric effects as well as the concentrations of CH3OH must have a dominant role in determining the yields of the final adducts by stereochemistry. The same mechanism for the carbon derivative (1-C) is also considered in this work. However, the theoretical results indicate that 1-C does not undergo a methanol addition reaction via the photochemical reaction pathway, since its energy of conical intersection (S1/S0-CI-C) is more than that of its FC (FC-C). The reason for these phenomena could be that the atomic radius of carbon is much smaller than that of silicon (77 and 117 pm, respectively). As a result, the conformation for 1-C is more sterically congested than that for 1-Si, along the 1,3-silyl-migration pathway.

Cycloaddition of carbonyl compounds and alkynes to (di)silenes and (di)germenes: reactivity and mechanism

The cycloaddition reactions of carbonyl compounds and alkynes to (di)tetrelenes appear to follow Woodward–Hoffman rules.

Mechanistic investigation of the reactivity of disilene with nitrous oxide: A DFT study

We have reported the mechanistic investigation of the reaction of N2O addition to disilene, trans-[(TMS)2N(η(1)-Me5C5)SiSi(η(1)-Me5C5)N(TMS)2] (1t), employing density functional theory (BP86/TZVP//BP86/SVP) calculations. The potential energy surfaces of the title reaction are broadly classified under three pathways. Pathway I deals with the direct N2O additions to 1t affording the trans-dioxadisiletane ring compound Pt whereas in the same pathway we report a different bifurcation route from intermediate 2t. This route portrays the isomerization of trans-monooxadisiletane species 2t prior to the second N2O addition, finally leading to the cis-isomeric product Pc. Different possibilities for isomerization of disilene 1t to 1c were studied in pathway II. The cis-disilene (1c) formed can subsequently react with two N2O molecules affording the cis-product Pc. Pathway III details the formation of silanone type intermediate 6, which subsequently combine with another silanone to afford loosely bound intermediates 7 and 8 respectively. The two separated silanone fragments in the isomeric intermediates 7 and 8 can then dimerizes to furnish the desired products. Among all the calculated potential energy surfaces, pathway III remains the most preferred route for disilene oxygenation under normal experimental condition. The present investigation about disilene reactivity will provide a deeper understanding on silylene chemistry and will exhibit promising applicability in main group chemistry as a whole.

New Class of Molecular Conductance Switches Based on the [1,3]-Silyl Migration from Silanes to Silenes

On the basis of first-principles density functional theory calculations, we propose a new molecular photoswitch which exploits a photochemical [1,3]-silyl(germyl) shift leading from a silane to a silene (a Si=C double bonded compound). The silanes investigated herein act as the OFF state, with tetrahedral saturated silicon atoms disrupting the conjugation through the molecules. The silenes, on the other hand, have conjugated paths spanning over the complete molecules and thus act as the ON state. We calculate ON/OFF conductance ratios in the range of 10-50 at a voltage of +1 V. In the low bias regime, the ON/OFF ratio increases to a range of 200-1150. The reverse reaction could be triggered thermally or photolytically, with the silene being slightly higher in relative energy than the silane. The calculated activation barriers for the thermal back-rearrangement of the migrating group can be tuned and are in the range 108-171 kJ/mol for the switches examined herein. The first-principles calculations together with a simple one-level model show that the high ON/OFF ratio in the molecule assembled in a solid state device is due to changes in the energy position of the frontier molecular orbitals compared to the Fermi energy of the electrodes, in combination with an increased effective coupling between the molecule and the electrodes for the ON state.

Synthesis of silenyllithiums Li(R'3Si)Si═C(SiR3)(1-Ad) via transient silyne-silylidene intermediates

The first two lithium silenides, Li(tBu(2)MeSi)Si═C(SiMetBu(2))(1-Ad) (1) and Li(tBuMe(2)Si)Si═C(SiMetBu(2))(1-Ad) (2) were prepared by THF addition to the corresponding lithium-silenolates, [(tBu(2)MeSi)(2)Si═C(OLi)(1-Ad)]·(R(3)SiLi) (3a: R(3)Si═tBu(2)MeSi, 3b: R(3)Si═tBuMe(2)Si). 1 and 2 were crystallized, and their structures were determined by X-ray crystallography. This process requires the presence of both coaggregated silyllithium (R(3)SiLi) (3a and 3b) and THF. Based on reaction products and DFT calculations, it is suggested that elimination of tBu(2)MeSiOLi from 3a (or 3b) produces first the corresponding silyne intermediate which rearranges to the corresponding silylidene, which is then trapped by R(3)SiLi giving 1 (or 2).

Theoretical investigation of the mechanisms for the reaction of fused tricyclic dimetallenes containing highly strained E═E (E = C, Si, Ge, Sn, and Pb) double bonds

The potential energy surfaces for the reactions of fused tricyclic dimetallenes that feature a highly strained E═E double bond, Rea-E═E, where E = C, Si, Ge, Sn, and Pb, were studied using density functional theory (B3LYP/LANL2DZ). Three types of chemical reactions (i.e., a self-isomerization reaction, a [2 + 2] cycloaddition with a ketone and a methanol 1,2-addition reaction) were used to determine the reactivity of the Rea-E═E molecules. The theoretical findings reveal that the smaller the singlet-triplet splitting of the Rea-E═E, the lower are its activation barriers and, in turn, the more rapid are its chemical reactions with other chemical molecules. Theoretical observations suggest that the relative reactivity increases in the following order: C═C ≪ Si═Si < Ge═Ge < Sn═Sn < Pb═Pb. Namely, the smaller the atomic weight of the group 14 atom (E), the smaller is the atomic radius of E and the more stable is its fused tricyclic Rea-E═E to chemical reaction. It is thus predicted that the fused tricyclic Rea-C═C and Rea-Si═Si molecules should be stable and readily synthesized and isolated at room temperature. The computational results show good agreement with the available experimental observations. The theoretical results obtained from this work allow a number of predictions to be made.

Silaphenolates and silaphenylthiolates: two unexplored unsaturated silicon compound classes influenced by aromaticity

Monosilicon analogs of phenolates and phenylthiolates are studied by quantum chemical calculations. Three different silaphenolates and three different silaphenylthiolates are possible; the ortho-, meta-, and para-isomers. For the silaphenolates, the meta-isomer is the thermodynamically most stable, regardless if the substituent R at Si is H, t-Bu or SiMe₃. However, with R = H and SiMe₃ the energy differences between the three isomers are small, whereas with R = t-Bu the meta-isomer is ~5 kcal/mol more stable than the ortho-isomer. For the silaphenylthiolates the ortho-isomer is of lowest energy, although with R = H the ortho- and meta-isomers are isoenergetic. The calculated nucleus independent chemical shifts (NICS) indicate that the silaphenolates and silaphenylthiolates are influenced by aromaticity, but they are less aromatic than the parent silabenzene. The geometries and charge distributions suggest that all silaphenolates and silaphenylthiolates to substantial degrees are described by resonance structures with an exocyclic C=O double bond and a silapentadienyl anionic segment. Indeed, they resemble the all-carbon phenolate and phenylthiolate. Silaphenylthiolates are less bond alternate and have slightly more negative NICS values than analogous silaphenolates, suggesting that this compound class is a bit more aromatic. Dimerization of the silaphenolates and silaphenylthiolates is hampered due to intramolecular Coulomb repulsion in the dimers, and silaphenolates with a moderately bulky SiMe₃ group as substituent at Si should prefer the monomeric form.

Bonding and structure of disilenes and related unsaturated group-14 element compounds

Structure and properties of silicon-silicon doubly bonded compounds (disilenes) are shown to be remarkably different from those of alkenes. X-Ray structural analysis of a series of acyclic tetrakis(trialkylsilyl)disilenes has shown that the geometry of these disilenes is quite flexible, and planar, twist or trans-bent depending on the bulkiness and shape of the trialkylsilyl substituents. Thermal and photochemical interconversion between a cyclotetrasilene and the corresponding bicyclo[1.1.0]tetrasilane occurs via either 1,2-silyl migration or a concerted electrocyclic reaction depending on the ring substituents without intermediacy of the corresponding tetrasila-1,3-diene. Theoretical and spectroscopic studies of a stable spiropentasiladiene have revealed a unique feature of the spiroconjugation in this system. Starting with a stable dialkylsilylene, a number of elaborated disilenes including trisilaallene and its germanium congeners are synthesized. Unlike carbon allenes, the trisilaallene has remarkably bent and fluxional geometry, suggesting the importance of the π-σ* orbital mixing. 14-Electron three-coordinate disilene-palladium complexes are found to have much stronger π-complex character than related 16-electron tetracoordinate complexes.