Silyl anion radical

The currently accepted mechanism of the alkali metal-mediated Wurtz-type condensation of dichlorosilanes is essentially that outlined in COMC II (1995) (chapter Organopolysilanes, p 98) which derived from studies by Gautier and Worsfold,42 and the groups of Matyjaszewski43 and Jones,22,44,45 a modified polymerization scheme of which is included here. The mechanism was deduced from careful observations on the progress of polymerizations in different solvents (such as those which better stabilize anions and those which do not), at different temperatures,44 with additives, and with different alkali metal reductants. Silyl anions, silyl anion radicals,42 and silyl radicals28,46,47 are believed to be involved, as shown in Scheme 3. 

A proposed mechanism for the Wurtz-type reductive coupling reaction is depicted in Fig. 5. After initiation via a silyl anion radical to a silyl radical, a four stage propagation step occurs to form the polymeric species. ... 

The wide diversity of the foregoing reactions with electron-poor acceptors (which include cationic and neutral electrophiles as well as strong and weak one-electron oxidants) points to enol silyl ethers as electron donors in general. Indeed, we will show how the electron-transfer paradigm can be applied to the various reactions of enol silyl ethers listed above in which the donor/acceptor pair leads to a variety of reactive intermediates including cation radicals, anion radicals, radicals, etc. that govern the product distribution. Moreover, the modulation of ion-pair (cation radical and anion radical) dynamics by solvent and added salt allows control of the competing pathways to achieve the desired selectivity (see below). 

In a similar vein, various electron acceptors yielding anion radicals that undergo rapid unimolecular decomposition also facilitate the efficacy of Scheme 1 by effectively obviating the back-electron transfer. For example, the nitration of enol silyl ether with tetranitromethane (TNM) occurs rapidly (despite an unfavorable redox equilibrium)78 owing to the fast mesolytic fragmentation of the TNM anion radical79 (Scheme 15). 

The effects of silyl groups on the chemical behavior of the anion radicals generated by cathodic reduction is also noteworthy. It is well known that silyl groups stabilize a negative charge at the a position. Therefore, it seems to be reasonable to consider that the anion radicals of re-systems are stabilized by a-silyl substitution. The interaction of the half-filled re orbital of the anion radical with the empty low-lying orbital of the silicon (such as dx-pK interaction) results in partial electron donation from the re-system to the silicon atom which eventually stabilizes the anion radical. 

Silyl Radicals, Silyl Cations and Silyl Anions 418... 

Unlike silyl radicals and silylium ions that have been elusive for a long time, silyl anions (silanides) are well known since the pioneering work of Gilman etal. in the 1960s. Two literature reviews on silyl anions by Lickiss and Smith as well as Tamao appeared in 1995. Many structural elucidations and reactivity studies of silyl anions have been... 

The reaction is considered to proceed via a silyl anion mechanism, although the possibility of a radical-based mechanism has also been discussed.115,125 In order to clarify the mechanism, coupling experiments on a 1 1 mixture of chlorotrimethylsilane, 27 (reduction potential <—3.0 V),126 and chlorotriphenylsilane, 28 (reduction potential vs. standard calomel electrode (SCE) < —3.0 V),120 were performed, in which the mixed coupling product 1,1,1-trimethyl-2,2,2-triphenyldisilane, 29, and the homocoupling product hexaphenyldisilane, 30, only, were found,125 as indicated in Scheme 15. 

Silyl radicals have been produced by one-electron oxidation of silyl metals [11]. This is found to be the method of choice for the generation of persistent silyl radicals and allowed the preparation of the first isolable silyl radical (see later in this chapter). Reactions (1.5) and (1.6) show two sterically hindered silyl anions with Na+ as the counter-cation, and their oxidation by the nitrosyl cation [12] and the complex GeCh/dioxane [13], respectively. 

The additions of alkyl or aryl silyl chlorides to 1 -ethoxycarbonyl- 1H-azepine in HMPA solution in the presence of magnesium proceed via anion radicals to yield trans adducts... 

In the reduction of conjugated dienes cis 1,4-addition of trimethyl-chlorosilane to give c -l,4-bis(trimethylsilyl)-2-butene is favored with sodium in THF, lithium naphthalide in THF, and with lithium in diethylether. It appears that the anion radical, which in nonionizing solvents should exist in a cis configuration, leads to the cis 1,4-addition of the silyl groups, whereas the dianions produced by further reduction lead to trans products (140). 

Arylsilane radical anions undergo cleavage and coupling reactions, usually under conditions where excess reducing agent is available. Reduction of phenylsilane, diphenylsilane, or triphenylsilane with sodium-potassium alloy under preparative conditions gives high yields of tetraphenylsilane (7). In the reduction of phenylsilanes, the appearance of 1,4-bis(silyl)benzene radical anions is frequently observed (135, 35, 86, 97, 75, 120, 100). Typical results are shown in Table II. 

The mechanism of the polycondensation reaction remains unclear. A variety of possible reactive intermediates have been suggested, including silyl radicals and silyl anions. An anionic propagation mechanism (100,101,103) has been strongly suggested, although the case is by no means settled (104). Other Synthetic Methods. 

The electron affinities of a number of a-silyl substituted silyl and carbon radicals were determined in photodetachment experiments and confirmed by data obtained from ab initio calculations. The authors conclude in this study that the stabilization a carbanion experiences through a-silyl substitution is approximately 14-20 kcalmol-1 per silyl group that of a silyl anion is approximately 6-14 kcal mol-1. The larger stabilization in the carbanionic systems is readily explained by stronger hyperconjugation of the anionic carbon center with the silyl groups as compared to that of the silyl anion with a silyl group. 

The mechanism in Scheme 5.1 can be elaborated further, as shown in Scheme 5.2.17 The reaction of chlorosilanes with sodium probably proceeds by an initial single electron transfer to form an anion radical, which loses chloride rapidly to form a silyl radical. 

The reductive silylation of Schiff bases is reported to yield (trimethylsilyl)benzylani-line (ASMA), after hydrolysis of the reaction medium. The reaction is highly sensitive to temperature.174 An anion-radical mechanism was postulated. Similar results are obtained from diversely N-substituted benzaldimines.175... 

Another approach involves the use of an electron-poor olefin acting both as an absorbing electron acceptor and as a radical trap. In this case, a PET reaction between a cyclohexenone derivative and a silylated amine led to a radical ion pair. Desilylation of the silyl amine radical cation intermediate in polar protic solvent (e.g., MeOH) and subsequent aminoalkyl radical attack onto the enone radical anion yielded the alkylated cyclohexanones [23]. 

This chapter will concentrate on the chemistry of metal-14-centered anions (Ge, Sn, Pb). These compounds and their silyl analogues are ionic or polarized alkaline and alkaline earth metal-14 compounds, as well as delocalized molecules such as metalloles. Ammonium metallates Mi4 R4N+ or metal-14-centered anion radicals are also considered. The subject was explored during the 1960s and 1970s and thoroughly reviewed in 1982 and 1995 in Comprehensive Organometallic Chemistry, Vols. I and and for silicon species in a previous volume of this series . By that time the main routes to metal-14 anions were known. Since then, the subject has been developed in the topics of particular syntheses, stabilization using steric hindrance, electronic effects and complexation, spectroscopic and structural analyses "... 

In the reductive coupling of phenylhexenyldichlorosilane, 75% of the alkenyl groups did not react with radicals, although cyclization was highly favored in the strainless ring. This result means that the lifetime of radicals must be very short and that they can be further reduced to silyl anions prior to intramolecular cyclization. The presence of anionic intermediates is additionally supported by faster reactions in ethereal solvents, first-order kinetics of the monomer, and some model reactions. The formation of silyl... 

The macromolecular silyl chloride reacts with sodium in a two-electron-transfer reaction to form macromolecular silyl anion. The two-electron-trans-fer process consists of two (or three) discrete steps formation of radical anion, precipitation of sodium chloride and generation of the macromolecular silyl radical (whose presence was proved by trapping experiments), and the very rapid second electron transfer, that is, reduction to the macromolecular silyl anion. Some preliminary kinetic results indicate that the monomer is consumed with an internal first-order-reaction rate. This result supports the theory that a monomer participates in the rate-limiting step. Thus, the slowest step should be a nucleophilic displacement at a monomer by macromolecular silyl anion. This anion will react faster with the more electrophilic dichlorosilane than with a macromolecular silyl chloride. Therefore, polymerization would resemble a chain growth process with a slow initiation step and a rapid multistep propagation (the first and rate-limiting step is the reaction of an anion with degree of polymerization n[DP ] to form macromolecular silyl chloride [DP +J, and the chloride is reduced subsequently to the anion). 

---