Activation of a Si−Si Bond by Hypercoordination: Cleavage of a Disilane and Formation of a Si−C Bond

Disilanes with Pentacoordinate Si Atoms by Carbon Dioxide Insertion into Aminodisilanes: Syntheses, Molecular Structures, and Dynamic Behavior

The insertion of carbon dioxide into the Si-N bonds of aminodisilanes ((RR'N) _n Me_3-n Si)₂ affords carbamoyloxydisilanes ((RR'NC(O)O) _n Me_3-n Si)₂. Some of the obtained insertion products feature pentacoordinate silicon atoms in the solid state and in solution, with two carbamoyloxy moieties bridging the Si-Si bond. The aminodisilanes and their insertion products were extensively analyzed, including single-crystal X-ray structure analyses. The temperature dependence of the higher coordination was investigated using variable temperature NMR experiments.

Silicon compounds in carbon-11 radiochemistry: present use and future perspectives

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a powerful functional imaging technique that requires the use of positron emitting nuclides. Carbon-11 (¹¹C) radionuclide has several advantages related to the ubiquity of carbon atoms in biomolecules and the conservation of pharmacological properties of the molecule upon isotopic exchange of carbon-12 with carbon-11. However, due to the short half-life of ¹¹C (20.4 minutes) and the low scale with which it is produced by the cyclotron (sub-nanomolar concentrations), quick, robust and chemospecific radiolabelling strategies are required to minimise activity loss during incorporation of the ¹¹C nuclide into the final product. To address some of the constraints of working with ¹¹C, the use of silicon-based chemistry for ¹¹C-labelling was proposed as a rapid and effective route for radiopharmaceutical production due to the broad applicability and high efficiency showed in organic chemistry. In the past years several organic chemistry methodologies have been successfully applied to ¹¹C-chemistry. In this short review, we examine silicon-based ¹¹C-chemistry, with a particular emphasis on the radiotracers that have been successfully produced and potential improvements to further expand the applicability of silicon in radiochemistry.

The use of silicon-based reagents and precursors for carbon-11 labelling has shown wide applicability and robustness with short reaction times using mild conditions. In this review, recent advances and future perspectives are examined.

Insertion of Ni(0) and Pd(0) precursors into the Si-Si bond of a disilane with two hypercoordinate silicon atoms

The activation of the silicon-silicon bond in disilane Ph2Si(μ-PzMe2)2SiPh2 (1), which possesses two five-coordinate silicon centers, was achieved by a reaction with Pd(0) or Ni(0) precursors of modest steric demand to afford a dinuclear Pd complex (2) or two types of mononuclear Ni complexes (3 and 4), respectively.

Recent progress in [11 C]carbon dioxide ([11 C]CO2 ) and [11 C]carbon monoxide ([11 C]CO) chemistry

[11 C]Carbon dioxide ([11 C]CO2 ) and [11 C]carbon monoxide ([11 C]CO) are 2 attractive precursors for labelling the carbonyl position (C═O) in a vast range of functionalised molecules (eg, ureas, amides, and carboxylic acids). The development of radiosynthetic methods to produce functionalised 11 C-labelled compounds is required to enhance the radiotracers available for positron emission tomography, molecular, and medical imaging applications. Following a brief summary of secondary 11 C-precursor production and uses, the review focuses on recent progress with direct 11 C-carboxylation routes with [11 C]CO2 and 11 C-carbonylation with [11 C]CO. Novel approaches to generate [11 C]CO using CO-releasing molecules (CO-RMs), such as silacarboxylic acids and disilanes, applied to radiochemistry are described and compared with standard [11 C]CO production methods. These innovative [11 C]CO synthesis strategies represent efficient and reliable [11 C]CO production processes, enabling the widespread use of [11 C]CO chemistry within the wider radiochemistry community.

Spontaneous Double Hydrometallation Induced by N→M Coordination in Organometallic Hydrides of Group 14 Elements

Our attempts to synthesise N→M intramolecularly coordinated diorganometallic hydrides L2MH2 [M=Si (4), Ge (5), Sn (6)] containing the CH=N imine group (in which L is C,N-chelating ligand {2-[(2,6-iPr2C6H3)N=CH]C6 H4}(-)) yielded 1,1'-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)-2,2'-spriobi[benzo[c][1,2]azasilole] (7), 1,1'-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)-2,2'-spriobi[benzo[c][1,2]azagermole] (8) and C,N-chelated homoleptic stannylene L2Sn (10), respectively. Compounds 7 and 8 are an outcome of a spontaneous double hydrometallation of the two CH=N imine moieties induced by N→M intramolecular coordination (M=Si, Ge) in the absence of any catalyst. In contrast, the diorganotin hydride L2SnH2 (6) is redox-unstable and the reduction of the tin centre with the elimination of H2 provided the C,N-chelated homoleptic stannylene L2Sn (10). Compounds 7 and 8 were characterised by NMR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. Because the proposed N→M intramolecularly coordinated diorganometallic hydrides L2MH2 [M=Si (4), Ge (5), Sn (6)] revealed two different types of reduction reactions, DFT calculations were performed to gain an insight into the structures and bonding of the non-isolable diorganometallic hydrides as well as the products of their subsequent reactions. Furthermore, the thermodynamic profiles of the different reaction pathways with respect to the central metal atom were also investigated.

2-Acylpyrroles as mono-anionic O,N-chelating ligands in silicon coordination chemistry

Kryptopyrrole (2,4-dimethyl-3-ethylpyrrole) was acylated with, for example, benzoyl chloride to afford 2-benzoyl-3,5-dimethyl-4-ethylpyrrole (L(1)H). With SiCl4 this ligand reacts under liberation of HCl and formation of the complex L(1)2SiCl2. In related reactions with HSiCl3 or H2SiCl2, the same chlorosilicon complex is formed under liberation of HCl and H2 or liberation of H2, respectively. The chlorine atoms of L(1)2SiCl2 can be replaced by fluoride and triflate using ZnF2 and Me3Si-OTf, respectively. The use of a supporting base (triethylamine) is required for the complexation of phenyltrichlorosilane and diphenyldichlorosilane. The complexes L(1)2SiCl2, L(1)2SiF2, L(1)2Si(OTf)2, L(1)2SiPhCl, and L(1)2SiPh2 exhibit various configurations of the octahedral silicon coordination spheres (i.e. cis or trans configuration of the monodentate substituents, different orientations of the bidentate chelating ligands relative to each other). Furthermore, cationic silicon complexes L(1)3Si(+) and L(1) SiPh(+) were synthesized by chloride abstraction with GaCl3. In contrast, reaction of L(1)2SiCl2 with a third equivalent of L(1)H in the presence of excess triethylamine produced a charge-neutral hexacoordinate Si complex with a new tetradentate chelating ligand which formed by Si-templated C-C coupling of two ligands L(1).

Transition-metal-free controlled polymerization of 2-perfluoroaryl-5-trimethylsilylthiophenes

A catalytic amount of fluoride anion promoted the polymerization of 2-pentafluorophenyl-5-trimethylsilylthiophene, providing a high-molecular-weight conjugated polymer in a chain-growth-like manner. The resulting polymer with a controlled molecular weight and a low molecular weight distribution was obtained in a high yield. The mechanism involves a pentacoordinated fluorosilicate as a key intermediate. The active polymerization end also initiated the second polymerization to afford well-defined block copolymers.

Disilicon complexes with two hexacoordinate Si atoms: paddlewheel-shaped isomers with (ClN4 )Si-Si(S4 Cl) and (ClN2 S2 )Si-Si(S2 N2 Cl) skeletons

The reaction of 1-methyl-3-trimethylsilylimidazoline-2-thione with hexachlorodisilane proceeds toward substitution of four of the disilane Cl atoms during the formation of disilicon complexes with two neighboring hexacoordinate Si atoms. The N,S-bidentate methimazolide moieties adopt a buttressing role, thus forming paddlewheel-shaped complexes of the type ClSi(μ-mt)4 SiCl (mt=methimazolyl). Most interestingly, three isomers (i.e., with (ClN4 )SiSi(S4 Cl), (ClN3 S)SiSi(S3 NCl), and (ClN2 S2 )SiSi(S2 N2 Cl) skeletons as so-called (4,0), (3,1), and cis-(2,2) paddlewheels) were detected in solution by using (29) Si NMR spectroscopic analysis. Two of these isomers could be isolated as crystalline solids, thus allowing their molecular structures to be analyzed by using X-ray diffraction studies. In accord with time-dependent NMR spectroscopy, computational analyses proved the cis-(2,2) isomer with a (ClN2 S2 )SiSi(S2 N2 Cl) skeleton to be the most stable. The compounds presented herein are the first examples of crystallographically evidenced disilicon complexes with two SiSi-bonded octahedrally coordinated Si atoms and representatives of the still scarcely explored class of Si coordination compounds with sulfur donor atoms.