Rearrangement reactions silylene-silene

Scheme 14.18). The silylene-silene rearrangement 27 28 is nearly thermoneutral, with the silene being slightly more stable. The photolysis of a-diazo compounds (30) is the only frequently used reaction path to silenes (31) via a carbene-silene... 

Evidence for additional silene-to-silylene isomerizations on simple systems is now available. Thus the pyrolysis of a silabicyclo[2.2.2]octadiene precursor for 1-chlorosil-ene229 produces a mixture of matrix-isolated 1-chlorosilene and chloromethylsilylene. In this instance the thermal rearrangement of the silene to the silylene is probably facilitated by the increased exothermicity of the reaction, since halogenated silylenes are particularly stable (equation 95). 

Grobe15 has described the pyrolysis of 1 -methyl-1 -vinyl- and 1,1 -diviny 1-1-silacyclobutanes 166 which led to the formation of methylvinylsilene and divinylsilene, respectively. Under the experimental conditions used, it was suggested that the silenes rearrange to exo-methylene- 1-silacyclo-propanes 167 which extrude methylsilylene or vinylsilylene, respectively. In support of this proposal, when the reactions were carried out in the presence of 2,3-dimethylbutadiene, the anticipated silylenes were trapped as their respective l-silacyclopent-3-enes 168. 

Conlin and coworkers photolyzed vinyltris(trimethylsilyl)silane 188 in the presence of a variety of trapping reagents such as butadiene, substituted butadienes or silanes and observed products derived from intermediate silenes 189 (formed by rearrangement) or from silylenes 190 resulting from elimination of hexamethyldisilane93. In some cases complex mixtures of products which could have been derived from intermediate silyl radicals were also observed. The reaction products formed from the silene and the silylene in the presence of butadiene, 191 and 192 respectively, are shown in Scheme 32. 

When examining the silylene transfer to gi OT-disubstituted alkenes to form silacyclopropenes, an unprecedented reaction of homoallylic ethers was discovered. Two di-/-butylsilylene units were found to be incorporated into the molecule followed by a complete rearrangement of the carbon backbone (Equation 6) <20050L5531 >. This reaction opens a new route to prepare organic synthetically useful allylic silenes to be used in annulation reactions. 

The second type of bonding situation that favors a silylene-to-silene rearrangement is a vinylsilylene structure. Examples in which this reaction is believed to occur are discussed in Section III.B.l.b in connection with silylene-to-silene-to-silylene rearrangements207,225,227. 

The complex reaction sequence shown in equation 34 might provide some rationalization. The formation of the silylcarbene 141 is suggested, based on experimental results from related reactions , but there is no evidence for the formation of 141 nor for a silylene intermediate. Thus, the transformation 137 142 might proceed via a dyotropic rearrangement as well. The facile 1,3-methyl shift in 2-trimethylsilylsilenes which interconverts 142 139 is well known from Wiberg -type silenes . 139 (R = i-Bu) is stable in solution at room temperature over days and isomerizes only slowly to 140 (R = t-Bu) which rapidly dimerizes giving a 1,3-disilacyclobutane . 

Both silene isomers 278 and 279 are ideal precursors for the generation of silylene 284, since their interconversion to 284 is spontaneous (in the case of 278) or can be easily induced by irradiation (in the case of 279). There are numerous well-established methods to prepare transient silylenes 279. Three important examples are shown in equation 69, namely the photolytic genCTation from a trisilane 280, thermolytic or photolytic decomposition of cyclic silanes 281 " " and degradation of diazidosilanes 282 56 -pjjg photolysis of the diazido silane 282 is an especially clean reaction which has been used in several spectroscopic studies. The photolysis of or-diazo compounds 283 is the only frequently used reaction path to sUenes 284 via a carbene-silene rearrangement. ... 

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