Pentacoordinate silicon compounds

The reactivity of penta- and hexacoordinated silicon compounds has been described to be very different from the reactivity of the corresponding tetracoordinated derivatives [ 1], An increase in reactivity towards nucleophiles has been observed in the case of neutral and anionic pentacoordinated silicon compounds as exemplified by the following Schemes [2],... 

The mechanism of these reactions can be described as a nucleophilic attack on a pentacoordinate silicon compound. Supporting this assumption, neutral or anionic hexacoordinated structures have been isolated and their X-ray structures obtained [5]. 

The literature on these structures is sparse, and generally the articles report preparations of several of them in similar ways. These compounds are constituted by oxygen, sulfur, or nitrogen adducts at the silicon atom, thus providing pentacoordinated silicon compounds or structural analogs (Scheme 33). 

The study of compounds containing pentacoordinate silicon atoms currently represents one of the main areas of research in silicon chemistry. This is evident from the numerous reviews and proceedings published on this topic in recent years.112 Most of the pentacoordinate silicon compounds described in the literature are either salts with A5.S7-silicate anions or neutral silicon complexes with a 4+1 coordination to silicon. This review deals with a completely different class of pentacoordinate silicon compounds zwitterionic A S /-silicatcs. These molecular compounds contain a pentacoordinate (formally negatively charged) silicon atom and a tetracoordinate (formally positively charged) nitrogen atom. 

Generally, the pentacoordinate silicon compounds described in this chapter are sensitive to water and very easily undergo hydrolytic Si-O cleavage reactions in solution. This has been used for the synthesis of the octa(silases-quioxane) 46, which was obtained in 90% yield by treatment of compound 35 with water in boiling acetonitrile (Scheme 8).34... 

The pentacoordinate silicon compounds 50,43 51,43 and 529 are spirocyclic zwitterionic A557-silicates with an Si04C skeleton. They contain two ethane-l,2-diolato(2-) ligands or two meso-oxolane-3,4-diolato(2-) ligands. 

The pentacoordinate silicon compounds 81, 8,54 82,54 83,54 and 8455 are spirocyclic zwitterionic A5S7-silicates with an Si04C skeleton. The chiral zwitterions contain two diolato(2—) ligands that formally derive from aceto-hydroximic acid and benzohydroximic acid (tautomers of acetohydroxamic acid and benzohydroxamic acid). 

The spirocyclic pentacoordinate silicon compounds 85,56 86,39 and 8739 are zwitterionic A5S7-silicates with an S702N2C skeleton. The chiral zwitterions... 

The spirocyclic pentacoordinate silicon compounds 90,45,58 91 45,58 and 9259 are zwitterionic A5Si-silicates with an Si05 skeleton. The chiral zwitter-ions contain two 2-methyllactato(2-) or two benzilato(2-) ligands. In these molecules, two five-membered SiC>2C2 rings are connected by the silicon spirocenter. Compounds 90 and 91 represent isoelectronic analogs of the zwitterionic A5Sz-silicates 58 and 59 (0/CH2 replacement see Section III,D). 

The pentacoordinate silicon compounds 94,23 95,23 96-98,60 99,60,61100,61,62 101-103,60 104,61,62 105,62 106,62 and 10761,63 are monocyclic zwitterionic A5S7-silicates with an Si02FC2 skeleton. The chiral zwitterions each contain one bidentate diolato(2-) ligand that formally derives from 1,2-dihydroxy-benzene, salicylic acid, glycolic acid, oxalic acid, benzohydroximic acid (tautomer of benzohydroxamic acid), 2-methyllactic acid, or (S)-mande-lic acid. 

Most of the zwitterionic compounds studied so far are chiral, with a chiral A5S/-silicate skeleton. Most of them have been isolated as racemic mixtures and in some cases as enantiomerically pure compounds, some of the optically active compounds being configurationally stable in solution. With these experimental investigations, in combination with computational studies, a new research area concerning the stereochemistry of molecular pentacoordinate silicon compounds has been developed. 

Recently, the stereochemistry of nucleophilic substitution at silicon has been reviewed by Holmes2, and the role of pentacoordinate silicon compounds as reaction intermediates has been reviewed by Corriu and coworkers3. 

Summary The rich variety of the coordination chemistry of silicon is discussed and some theoretical issues are raised. In an attempt to understand further the underlying chemistry, some thermodynamic and kinetic parameters for the formation and substitution of pentacoordinate silicon compounds have been measured by NMR methods. Values of -31 3 kJ mol for SHand -100 10 J K mor for A5-were measured for the intramolecular coordination of a pyridine ligand to a chlorosilane moiety. A detailed kinetic analysis of a nucleophilic substitution at pentacoordinate silicon in a chelated complex revealed that substitution both with inversion and retention of configuration at silicon are taking place on the NMR time-scale. The substitution with inversion of configuration is zero order in nucleophile but a retentive route is zero order in nucleophile at low temperature but shows an increasing dependence on nucleophile at higher temperatures. These results are analysed and mechanistic hypotheses are proposed. Some tentative conclusions are drawn about the nature of reactivity in pentacoordinate silicon compounds. 

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