Silylcarbene-silene rearrangement

Two indirect routes to silenes, one derived from silylenes and the other from silylcarbenes, are of some generality and importance. Silylenes (e.g., Me3Si—Si—<]) (53) have been derived from the thermolysis of either methoxy or chloro polysilyl compounds. Thermolysis resulted in the elimination of trimethylmethoxy- or trimethylchlorosilane and yielded the silylene, which, based on products of trapping, clearly had rearranged in part to the isomeric silene [Eq. (5)]. Alternatively the silylene Me2Si has... 

The following examples in this section illustrate that the silylcarbene-to-silene rearrangement and subsequent silene reactions are common also under nonmatrix conditions. The early research on this topic was reviewed in 197937. 

When two carbene functions are separated by one or more silicon atoms, one can expect them to enter independently the usual inter- or intramolecular reactions. Among the intramolecular reactions, extensions of those which have been discussed in Sections III.B and IILC are particularly appealing, namely silylcarbene-to-silene rearrangement at one or both carbene centers and intramolecular carbene dimerization to form a C,C double bond and thus an unsaturated silaheterocycle. 

The dramatic influence of a methyl group on the reaction pathway is exemplified by carbene 163 which rearranges to a vinylsilane. In the absence of this methyl group, however, the silylcarbene-to-silene rearrangement (equation 16) occurs48,49. 

An analogous mechanistic scheme (equation 87) has been proposed for the flash vacuum pyrolysis of dimethylsilyl(trimethylsilyl)thioketene148 (256). The pyrolysis of bis(trimethylsilyl)thioketene (257) leads to a more complicated product mixture (equation 88). With 47% conversion, a mixture of trimethylsilylacetylene, 1-trimethylsilyl-1-propyne, bis(trimethylsilyl)acetylene, (trimethylsilyl)thioketene, 2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-2,4-disila-l-thietane and 2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-2,4-disila-l,3-dithietane was obtained. All products can be rationalized, however, by the assumption that carbene 258 undergoes not only a silylcarbene-to-silene rearrangement (as in the preceding two cases) but also isomerization to 2-thiirene and insertion into a methyl-C, H bond. 

Silenes are formed by rearrangement of silylcarbenes. If polysilylated diazomethanes 298-300 are employed, a selective migration of a silyl group to the carbene centre occurs and silenes 301, 92 and 302 are formed (equations 74-76)164. The outcome of trapping reactions is independent of the mode of silene generation photochemical and pyrolytic methods give the same results. 

In contrast to the carbene and carbenoid chemistry of simple diazoacetic esters, that of a-silyl-a-diazoacetic esters has not yet been developed systematically [1]. Irradiation of ethyl diazo(trimethylsilyl)acetate in an alcohol affords products derived from 0-H insertion of the carbene intermediate, Wolff rearrangement, and carbene- silene rearrangement [2]. In contrast, photolysis of ethyl diazo(pentamethyldisilanyl)acetate in an inert solvent yields exclusively a ketene derived from a carbene->silene->ketene rearrangement [3], Photochemically generated ethoxycarbonyltrimethyl-silylcarbene cyclopropanates alkenes and undergoes insertion into aliphatic C-H bonds [4]. Copper-catalyzed and photochemically induced cyclopropenation of an alkyne with methyl diazo(trimethylsilyl)acetate has also been reported [5]. 

Ando and coworkers122 described an even more complex system in which the initially formed silylcarbene suffered 1,2-silyl migration to yield a silene, which then further rearranged by migration of an ethoxy group to silicon to yield a ketene (equation 79). Studies in a matrix demonstrated that this latter step was a photochemical process. 

Thermal silylcarbene-to-silene rearrangements have been known for a long time1. The pyrolytic product from trimethylsilyldiazomethane, 1,1,2-trimethylsilene, was trapped in an argon matrix230, and the pyrolysis of bis(trimethylsilyl)diazomethane126 was reported to produce fair amounts of 2,4-bis(trimethylsilyl)hexamethyl-l,3-disilacyclobutane, the expected dimerization product of 2-(trimethylsilyl)-1,1,2-trimethylsilene. A second product was the disilane expected from an ene addition of one... 

By far the best source for 3a is (trimethylsilyl)diazomethane (19). It has already been mentioned that gas-phase pyrolysis of 19 alone yields products which are derived from intramolecular carbene reactions such as 1,3-C,H insertion and silylcarbene-to-silene rearrangement (see equation 20). Also, copyrolysis of 19 with alcohols or benzaldehyde allowed one to trap the silene but not the carbene 33 (see equation 5). Furthermore, solution photolysis of 19 in the presence of alcohols or amines did not give the X,H insertion products of the carbene but rather trapping products of the silene . On the other hand, photochemically generated carbene 3a did undergo some typical intermolec-ular carbene reactions such as cyclopropanation of alkenes (ethylene, frani-but-2-ene, but not 2,3-dimethylbut-2-ene, tetrafluoroethene and hexafluoropropene), and insertion into Si—H and methyl-C—H bonds (equation 39). The formal carbene dimer, trans-1,2-bis(trimethylsilyl)ethene, was a by-product in all photolyses in the presence of alkenes it is generally assumed that such carbene dimers result from reaction of the carbene with excess diazo compound. 

Phenyl(triphenylsilyl)carbene has also been trapped without the interfoence of a silylcarbene-to-silene rearrangement. It undragoes 0,H insertion with alcohols and is oxidized to the ketone by DMSO the latto reaction is likely to include an S-oxide ylide (equation 56). 

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 . 

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