Silanones formation

Scheme 5. Electrochemically detectaUe reactions of superoxide ion in the first steps of silanone formation. The bimolecular reaction with k is rate determining.

Some remarkable chemistry is observed when silenes react with heteroatom systems, in particular carbonyl compounds (]>C=0) and imines Q>C=N—R). The reaction with ketones was first described by Sommer (203), who postulated formation of an intermediate siloxetane which could not be observed and hence was considered to be unstable even at room temperature, decomposing spontaneously to a silanone (normally isolated as its trimer and other oligomers) and the observed alkene [Eq. (14)]. Many efforts have been made to demonstrate the existence of the siloxetane, but it is only very recently that claims have been advanced for the isolation of this species. In one case (86) an alternative formulation for the product obtained has been advanced (204). In a second case (121) involving reaction of a highly hindered silene with cyclopentadienones,... 

The discussion continues regarding the role of silanone and cyclodisiloxanes as reactive intermediates in the formation of Si-O-Si bond.25 In studies of the reaction of dimethyldichlorosilane, phenylmethyldichlorosilane, or diphenyldichlorosilane with dimethyl sulfoxide in the presence of 2,2,5,5-tetramethyl-l-oxa-2,5-disilacyclopentane, Weber and co-workers obtained products of the insertion of diorganosiloxy unit into the cyclic siloxane, accompanied... 

In the reaction of lithiated alkylbenzothiazoles with BTSP, the formation of methylated products always competes with the formation of silyl ethers. The demethylation of BTSP can tentatively be conceived as being derived from the nucleophilic attack of alkylben-zothiazole anion at the methyl group of BTSP with displacement of silanone and silanolate anion, while silyl ethers would form by nucleophilic attack of the alkylbenzothiazole anion at the oxygen of BTSP (Scheme 8/. ... 

The authors suggest that the formation of 814 probably proceeds via the silanone t-Bu2Si=0 and an insertion into one C—H bond of a terf-butyl group. 

Evidence for the formation of silanones depends on two types of experiments. In the first, silanones are generated as unstable intermediates in reactions, and their formation is inferred from the isolation of trapping products with suitable substrates. The second approach is based on their generation in a low temperature matrix and their characterization by infrared spectroscopy which reveals v(si=o) at ca 1200 cm-1. These two groups of experiments are described below. 

It is well known that thermal decomposition of allyl-substituted silanes proceeds by retro-ene reaction with formation of transient species having a Si=C bond, such as silaben-zene, silatoluene and dimethylsilaethylene4b e. The kinetic data on the gas-phase pyrolysis of a similar allyloxysilane derivative, (l,l-dimethylallyloxy)dimethylsilane (16), and the results on thermolysis of allyloxydimethylsilane (17) in a flow system both indicate the participation of an intermediate silanone, (CH3)2Si=0 (10), as shown in Scheme 523. 

In 1989, Nefedov and coworkers have reinvestigated the thermolysis of the above-mentioned allyloxysilane derivatives 16-18 and of 2,2,6-trimethyl-2-silapyrane (21) using vacuum pyrolysis and matrix isolation techniques23. IR spectroscopic studies on the products isolated in the matrices enabled them to probe directly the intermediacy of 10 in these reactions and to discuss its thermal stability. Only in the case of allyloxydimethylsilane (17) did they find direct spectroscopic evidence for the formation of 10 by observation of its most intense band at 798 cm-1 in the matrix IR spectrum of the pyrolysis products. In all other cases silanone 10 was not detected and it was assumed that it is thermally unstable, undergoing fragmentation into SiO and CH3 radicals as shown in Schemes 7, 8 and 9 (the species actually observed in the matrix are indicated). In this paper, Nefedov and coworkers have reaffirmed the thermal and kinetic stability of dimethylsilanone 10 in the gas phase, which they had previously described19. 

The generation of methane in the reaction was evidenced by the 111 NMR spectrum of the reaction mixture. It was also shown that the newly obtained complex 29 reacts catalytically with silanol 28 to give the trimer 30 (presumably from trimerization of 31) with the evolution of hydrogen gas. In the presence of MesSiOMe the same reaction resulted in the formation of an insertion product of the intermediate silanone 31 as shown in the lower part of Scheme 12. The proposed catalytic cycle for the dehydrogenation of 28 with 29 is shown in Scheme 13. It should be noted, however, that spectroscopic evidence for the proposed silanones was not presented. 

When a toluene solution of a mixture of cyclotrisilane 34 and cyclohexyl isocyanate (or f-butyl isocyante) was heated at 70 °C, cyclic di- and trisiloxanes 37 and 38, i.e. the cyclic dimer and trimer of the silanone 36, were obtained together with the corresponding isonitrile RN=C. The formation of 37 as well as 38 was completely suppressed in the presence of hexamethylcyclotrisiloxane (19 D3) instead, quantitative conversion of 35 into 39, the formal insertion product of the silanone 36 into the Si—O bond of D3, occurred (Scheme 14). Since neither cyclodisiloxane 37 nor cyclotrisiloxane 38 reacted with D3 under the reaction conditions, the possibility that 37 or 38 is the precursor of 39 was ruled out. Whereas the oxidation of 35 with cyclohexyl and t-butyl isocyanates proceeded with exclusive formation of 37 and 38 (as the silicon-containing compounds) the reaction of 35 with phenyl isocyanate resulted in the formation of 37 in low yield. Furthermore, in this case the presence of D3 did not totally suppress the formation of 37. According to the authors, these results indicate that the oxidation of 35 with cyclohexyl and f-butyl isocyanates appears to use other reaction channels than that with phenyl isocyanate. 

The photochemical reactivity goes up with increasing number of methyl groups at the double bond and decreasing ionization potential28. Key intermediates in both the photochemical and the thermal oxidation of silenes 12, 7 and 13 are the siladioxetanes 14. These species are labile even in low-temperature matrices and could not be identified spectroscopically. Evidence for their formation comes from the observed oxidation products such as complexes 15 between silanones and formaldehyde and formylsilanols 16. 

A recent study of the photolysis of simple diazoalkanes 314 or diazirines 315, compounds known to lead to the formation of silenes under inert conditions, led, in oxygen-doped argon matrices, via the silene 316 to the siladioxirane 317. While previously postulated as an intermediate in silene oxidations, this is important experimental evidence for this intermediate. Continued photolysis of the system led to a compound identified as the silanone-formaldehyde complex 318, which on further irradiation led to the silanol-aldehyde 319. The latter compound itself underwent further photochemical oxidation leading to the silanediol 320160. The reactions are summarized in Scheme 58. Detailed infrared studies, including the use of isotopes, and calculations, were used to establish the structures of the compounds. 

For comparison, we present below the G2(MP2)-calculated heat effects AH (OK) of the Si = O bond rupture for a number of silanone molecules containing different substituents on the silicon atom. The calculations were carried out for the molecules of C2v symmetry, with the spatial geometry of the starting silylene molecules corresponding to the situation where the SiOSiO atoms in the (H3Si-0)2Si and (F3Si-0)2Si molecules are trans-positioned, while the HOSiO atoms in the (HO)2Si molecule are cis to each other, and this symmetry is retained upon the formation of the silanone group ... 

Fig. 7.4. The experimental evidence of the formation of the complexes comprising silanone group and CO molecule, obtained by the optical and IR methods. The calculated structure for model of this complex is given in the same figure.

Silanone groups easily undergo the addition to unsaturated molecules (reactions 6-9) to form the corresponding cyclic structures [86,87], According to the results of quantum-chemical calculations, in these reactions, comparatively stable ( 10kcal/mol) intermolecular complexes are formed, which then yield the final products. The silicon atom of the silanone group mainly participates in complex formation. 

High-temperature heating of the hydrated silicon samples is accompanied by the decomposition of hydroxyl groups and formation of the reactive cyclic structures (=Si-0-)2Si < 02> Si(-0-Si=)2. Their concentration is equal to 10l3cm-2 [4,72]. These groups can also form through the combination (condensation) of two silanone groups ... 

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