Silenes with alkenes

In this section we will summarize bimolecular reactions of silenes with alkenes, alkynes and dienes which might be regarded nominally as cycloaddition reactions. 

In addition to undergoing cycloaddition reactions with alkenes and al-kynes, silenes readily undergo cycloaddition reactions with heteroatom multiple bonds such as C=0 and C=N, most commonly when the trapping reagent for the silene is either an aldehyde, ketone, or imine. In many... 

As silenes represent a much more reactive higher energy it system than alkenes, it is not surprising that they show many of the reactions of alkenes as well as some behavior not generally exhibited by alkenes. However, the relative instability of silenes has meant that in most cases little mechanistic information on the observed reactions is available, and it is by no means certain in all cases that the same mechanism prevails for reactions of silenes and alkenes with the same reagent. 

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,... 

When simple alkenes were employed as reaction partners for silenes of the type (Me3Si)2Si=C(OSiMe3)R1, silacyclobutanes were obtained, provided that no allylic hydrogen is present in the alkene. In the reaction with alkenes with allylic hydrogens the ene reaction becomes predominant (see Table 11). Thus, while the reaction with styrene exclusively gives the four-membered ring compound 454, with 1-methylstyrene the ene products 455 were obtained (equation 144). Similarly, from the reaction of 150 with 1-octene only the ene product 456 was isolated (equation 145). 

Recently, several studies have been made of the photolysis of disilanes or polysilanes in the presence of an electron-deficient alkene using a photosensitizer (such as phenanthrene) and acetonitrile as solvent. These conditions result in the addition of silyl groups to one end of the alkene double bond and hydrogen to the other end (equation 18) and evidently involve the reaction of the radical anions of the electron-deficient silene with silyl radicals67 (see also Section VIII.A). 

The relative rates of reaction of the silene Me2Si=C(SiMe3)2 with a series of amines, alcohols, phenols, thiophenols, dienes, and alkenes were obtained174 and are reported in Table VIII Section IV.C. 

A second category of silene reactions involves interactions with tt-bonded reagents which may include homonuclear species such as 1,3-dienes, alkynes, alkenes, and azo compounds as well as heteronuclear reagents such as carbonyl compounds, imines, and nitriles. Four modes of reaction have been observed nominal [2 + 2] cycloaddition (thermally forbidden on the basis of orbital symmetry considerations), [2 + 4] cycloadditions accompanied in some cases by the products of apparent ene reactions (both thermally allowed), and some cases of (allowed) 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions. 

The double bond in silenes is strongly polarized. They react with phosphorus ylides, as shown by Brook and MacMillan,45 like alkenes with the strongly polar C=C bond. Therefore, it is reasonable to suggest that the reaction also occur through the betaine intermediate (12) (Scheme 6). 

These studies proved that the reactions of 22 with butadienes and propenes take place both regioselectively and stereoselectively and are accelerated by electron-donating groups on propenes and butadienes (e.g., 2-methylpropene in relation to propene) and retarded by increasing bulkiness of substituents in 1,4- or 1,3-positions. As in the case of alkenes and silenes, the reactions of 22 occur in a concerted way and are HOMO (dienes or enes)-LUMO (dienophiles or enophiles) controlled.31 However, some small differences are observed between germene 22 and the analogous... 

When phenyl(trimethylsilyl)diazomethane (20) is pyrolyzed in the gas phase, typical reactions of carbene 21 can be observed (see Section III.E.4). However, copyrolysis with alcohols or carbonyl compounds generates again products which are derived from silene 2239,40 (equation 6). Thus, alkoxysilanes 23 are obtained in the presence of alcohols and alkenes 24 in the presence of an aldehyde or a ketone. 2,3-Dimethylbuta-l,3-diene traps both the carbene (see Section ni.E.4) and the silene. 

Silene Ph2Si=C(SiMe3)2 97 reacts with benzophenone and gives the [2 + 4] cycloproduct 98, probably via the donor adduct 99. 98 is, however, not a silene precursor but decomposes to the alkene 100 and diphenylsilanone 101 (equation 22)63 64. 

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