Disilanes cyclic—

The double silylation of unsaturated organic compounds catalyzed by group 10 metals is a convenient synthetic route to disilacyclic compounds. Nickel and platinum complexes, in particular, are excellent catalysts for the transformation of disilanes. Cyclic bis(silyl)metal complexes2,3 have been implicated as key intermediates in the metal-catalyzed double silylation of alkynes, alkenes, and aldehydes however, the intermediates have not been isolated due to their instability. We now describe (i) the isolation of the reactive intermediates cyclic bis(silyl)metal compounds (1) with bulky o-carborane unit 4 (ii) the generation of a new class of heterocyclic compounds (4-5) by the stoichiometric reaction of the intermediates with a variety of substrates such as an alkyne, dione, and nitrile 4 and (iii) the facile double silylation of alkenes and alkynes (10,12-14) catalyzed by the intermediate under mild conditions.5... 

With suitable disilanes, cyclic silylpalladium as well as silylplatinum complexes are produced ... 

Correlation of the SiSi bond lengths in disilane derivatives X3Si-SiX3 with X = CH3, C(CH3)3 and Si(CH3)3 together with those of sterically overcrowded cyclic [7a] and linear [7b] trisilane derivatives versus their Pauling bond orders [5a,6b,7], expectedly, produces a linear regression (Fig. 4). 

Palladium-catalyzed bis-silylation of benzynes has been achieved. Reaction of 2-trimethylsilylaryl triflates with cyclic disilanes in the presence of KF/18-crown-6 affords cyclic bis-silylation products in good yields (Equation (29)). It is crucially important to use the palladium-isocyanide catalyst.99 100... 

Highly strained four-membered cyclic disilane adds to the central C=C bond of a cumulated triene in the presence of Pd(PPh3)4 in a regioselective manner (Equation (39)).82,83... 

Although no efficient bis-silylation reaction for aldehydes and ketones with acyclic disilanes has been established, highly strained cyclic disilanes add to C=0 bond in a 1,2-fashion in the presence of nickel and platinum catalysts (Equations (44) and (45)).83 128... 

Use of strained cyclic disilane enables thermal insertion of isocyanide into the Si-Si bond.136... 

Disilanes and cyclic silanes can be polymerized via a number of routes, depending on their substituents, and are described in Section 3.11.4. 

Ishikawa and coworkers have studied the unique reactivity of strained cyclic disilanes (Equation 9.11) [35]. Transition metals, especially those of Group 10, readily insert into the Si—Si bond of disilacyclobutene 118 and can catalyze the addition of that bond across a variety of unsaturated acceptors. In the case of Ni(0)-catalyzed reactions of 118 with trimethylsilyl alkynes, insertion was found to occur both in a 1,2-and in a 1,1-fashion. The latter of these pathways implies a 1,2-silyl-migration, presumably occurring at the metal center. A nickel vinylidene intermediate was therefore proposed, though efforts to prove its existence were inconclusive. Similar vinylidene intermediates have been proposed by Ishikawa and coworkers to account for migrations observed in related palladium- and platinum-catalyzed reactions [36]. 

B. Oxidation of Cyclic Disilanes with Molecular Oxygen. 815... 

Cyclic disilanes, oxidation with molecular oxygen, 815-19... 

Rearrangements of disilanes to a-silylsilenes are well established and are involved in the exchange of substituents between a silylene center and the adjacent silicon.Pulsed flash pyrolysis of acetylenic disilane (41) gave rise to the acetylenic silene (42), which subsequently rearranged to the cyclic silylene, 1-silacyclopropenylidene (43). Irradiation of the cyclic silylene resulted in the isomerization to the isomeric 42, which itself could be photochemically converted into the allenic silylene (44). Both 42 and 43 also were reported to isomerize on photolysis to the unusual (45), which was characterized spectroscopically (Scheme 14.24). 

Disilanes connected via both the Si-Si bond and an organic or an organo-metallic linkage are activated toward reaction with unsaturated substrates to form cyclic bis(silyl) products. Reactions of 3,4-benzo-l,l,2,2-tetraethyl-1,2-disilacyclobutene with diphenylacetylene or benzaldehyde catalyzed by Ni(PEt3)4 proceed with addition across the multiple bond to form the ring-expanded product.54 A second product is formed in a lesser amount in the case of diphenylacetylene, with insertion into the Si-C bond [Eq. (13)]. 

The oxidation potential decreases in the order Si—Si Si—Ge>Ge—Ge>Si—Sn> Ge—Sn >Sn—Sn in accord with the ionization potential (7P) of the corresponding dimetal. Anodic generation of silicenium ions from disilanes was also reported. The reduction potentials of silicenium ions were determined by cyclic voltammetry of neutral precursor disilanes49. The reduction potential shifted to the negative direction as the center element changed from C to Ge as shown in equation 44. 

Cathodic reduction potentials of disilenes were determined by cyclic voltammetry56. As shown in Table 18, tetraaryldisilenes are reduced at less negative potentials than dialkyl-diaryl derivatives. This is in sharp contrast to the fact that anodic oxidation potentials are similar for both types of these disilanes (see Table 13). 

Maier and coworkers have found that pulsed flash pyrolysis of an acetylenic disilane 323 gave rise to the acetylenic silylene 324, which subsequently rearranged to the cyclic silylene 1-silacyclopropenylidene 325162. Irradiation of this cyclic silylene resulted in its isomerization to the isomeric acetylenic silylene 324, which itself could be photo-chemically converted to the allenic silylene 326. As well, both 324 and 325 were said to isomerize on photolysis to the unusual silacycloalkyne 327, which was characterized... 

Activation of two Si—Si bonds in bis(disilanyl)alkanes with palladium(O) bis(tert-alkyl isocyanide) induced the formation of the cyclic bis(silyl)palladium(II) bis(terf-alkyl isocyanide) complexes (100) and disilanes described schematically in Scheme 42. These complexes were found to react with phenylacetylene, affording different amounts of five-membered cyclic products and acyclic products which are derived from the insertion of the alkyne into the general intermediate complex 101 (Scheme 42, equation 54). The bis(silanyl)dithiane palladium complex (102) was isolated and characterized in the solid state the two silicon atoms, the two isocyano carbons and the palladium atom are nearly in a plane with a short cross-ring Si—Si distance of 2.613(2) A, suggesting the possibility of covalently bonded two Si—Si atoms in the four-membered ring. Similar reaction with cyclic disilanes afforded oligomers, and cyclic 20-membered compounds have been prepared in the presence of nitriles248,249. 

The proton NMR spectral data of organopolysilanes have often been published incidental to preparative studies (51, 54, 62, 74, 108, 119, 177, 187, 190). Only recently has a systematic investigation to determine the chemical shifts and coupling constants in linear and cyclic permethylated polysilanes, and to study the effects of substituents on the NMR properties of methyl derivatives of disilane and trisilane been reported (see Table V-VII) (206). 

An interesting reaction of disilane is the transition metal-catalyzed insertion of unsaturated hydrocarbons. The palladium-mediated reaction of cyclotrisilane 26 with phenylacetylene to afford the seven-membered carbosilane 51 (Equation 3) indicates that this general reaction scheme is also applicable to strained cyclic trisilanes <20040M490>. 

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