Reactivity of Stable Heteroleptic Silylene PhC(NtBu)2SiNPh2 toward Diazobenzene and N-Benzylidineaniline

Geometrically Compelled Silicon(II)/Silicon(IV) Donor-Acceptor Interaction Enables the Enamination of Nitriles

Discovering new bonding scenarios and subsequently exploring the reactivity contribute substantially to advance the main group element chemistry. Herein, we report on the isolation and characterization of an intriguing class of the hydrido-benzosiloles 2-4. These compounds exhibit a side arm of the amidinatosilylenyl group, featuring unidirectional silicon(II)/silicon(IV) donor-acceptor interaction on account of the geometric constraint. Furthermore, the reactions involving 2-4 with nitriles yield the tricyclic compounds that edge-fused of the Si-heteroimidazolidine-CN2 Si2 , silole-C4 Si, and phenyl-C6 -rings (5-13). These compounds are manifesting a unique reaction that the silicon(II)/silicon(IV) interaction enables the enamination of the α-H-bearing nitriles. The reaction mechanism involved in H-shift under oxidative addition at silylene followed by hydrosilylation of a ketenimine intermediate was revealed by density function theory (DFT) calculations.

1-Aza-2,4-disilabicyclo[1.1.0]butanes with Superelongated C-N σ-Bonds

Two silylene molecules oxidatively react under formal [1 + 2 + 1]-cycloaddition to the C≡N bond of nitriles to yield 1-aza-2,4-disilabicyclo[1.1.0]butanes (L)(Cl)Si[μ-η^1,2-NC(p-RC₆H₄)]Si(Cl)(L) (L = PhC(NtBu)₂, R = CF₃ (2), F (3), Cl (4), Br (5)). The strongly folded bicyclic SiCNSi cores in 2-5 feature inverted bridgehead carbon atoms and superelongated C-N bonds [1.745(12) to 1.801(2) Å], exceeding the lengths of C-N single bonds in known silaaziridines by up to 23%. Detailed bonding analysis discloses C-N bonding interactions, sharing far-reaching similarities with the central C-C bond in [1.1.1]propellane.

Interconversion between a silaimine and an aminosilylene supported by an iminophosphonamide ligand

The reaction of a chlorosilylene, supported by an iminophosphonamide ligand, with KN(SiMe₃)₂ resulted in the formation of a silaimine instead of the expected aminosilylene. However, this silaimine exists in equilibrium with the corresponding aminosilylene, which was experimentally demonstrated using variable-temperature NMR spectroscopy and a trapping reaction with elemental selenium to give a silaselenourea.

Mixed valence η6-arene cobalt(I) and cobalt(II) compound

The first carbonyl free mixed valence cobalt(I)/cobalt(II) compound [2{L2Co(I)(η(6)-C7H8)}](2+) [Co(II)2Cl6](2-) (1) [L = PhC(N(t)Bu)2SiCl] was obtained by the reaction of four equivalents of anhydrous CoCl2 with five equivalents of N-heterocyclic chlorosilylene L. In contrast, the reaction of L with CoBr2 yielded [L2CoBr2] (2). Compound 1 was formed by the cleavage of Co-Cl bonds, the reduction of Co(II) to Co(I) and by the coordination of a toluene molecule. The chlorosilylene (L) functions as a reducing agent as well as a neutral σ-donor ligand. The toluene molecule coordinates to the Co(I) atom in an η(6)-fashion.