Silyene

The prefix sila- designates replacement of carbon by silicon in replacement nomenclature. Prefix names for radicals are formed analogously to those for the corresponding carbon-containing compounds. Thus silyl is used for SiH3—, silyene for —SiH2—, silylidyne for —SiH<, as well as trily, tetrayl, and so on for free valences(s) on ring structures. 

Corriu et al. have reported that the coupling reaction of 2-(iV,iV-dimethylaminomethyl)phenyllithium with (McvSi)vSiCI 53 affords 2-(iV,iV-dimethylaminomethyl)-l-[tris(trimethylsilyl)silyl]benzene 894. No evidence has been found that the intramolecular iV-ligand coordinates to the silicon atom of 894. Upon UV irradiation, the trisilane forms a transient silyene 895, which has been trapped with 2,3-dimethyl-2,3-butadiene and triethylsilane to give the oligosilanes 896 and 897 as well as 898-900, (Scheme 126).859 Apparently, the bulk on the two ligands is insufficient to provide kinetic stabilization of the silylene intermediate 895. 

Co-photolysis of the same silyene precursor, 72, with 1,2-diethynylbenzene yields a tricyclic system with an exocyclic /-Bu2SiH group via a bis(silirenyl)benzene 103 intermediate followed by a 1,2-hydrogen shift to give the vinyldiene derivative (Scheme 34) <20020M636>. 

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