Silylenes with carbonyl compounds

Reactions of silylenes with unsaturated organic substrates are valuable for the synthesis of novel silicon compounds (1,2). Over the past three decades, the reactions of silylenes with carbonyl compounds have been extensively investigated (3—5). It has been shown that these reactions produce diverse types of products via siloxirane or carbonyl silaylide intermediates while the carbonyl C—O a bond is generally maintained (3—5). Complete cleavage of the C—O bond has only been observed in several cases (4). Furthermore, the synthesis and physical properties of siloles and related unsaturated carbon—silicon heterocycles are of great interest as heteroaromatic molecular precursors and potential molecular optical materials (6). In this experiment, reaction of a NHC-stabilized silacyclopentadienylidene (silole silylene) with aldehydes, leading to the formation of the novel NHC-stabilized a,(3-unsaturated silanone, was described. 

Addition to Carbonyi and Thiocarbonyi Compounds. Thermal generation of dimethylsilylene in the presence of carbonyl compounds leads to the addition of the silylene to the C=0 bond with the formation of oxasiliranes... 

The activation of silylene complexes is induced both photochemically or by addition of a base, e.g. pyridine. A similar base-induced cleavage is known from the chemistry of carbene complexes however, in this case the carbenes so formed dimerize to give alkenes. Finally, a silylene cleavage can also be achieved thermally. Melting of the compounds 4-7 in high vacuum yields the dimeric complexes 48-51 with loss of HMPA. The dimers, on the other hand, can be transformed into polysilanes and iron carbonyl clusters above 120 °C. In all cases, the resulting polymers have been identified by spectroscopic methods. 

Carbonyl and thiocarbonyl complexes of Mes2Si have been observed in a remarkable series of experiments by Ando and coworkers144. Photolysis of Mes2Si(SiMe3)2 was carried out at 77 K in a soft (3-MP/isopentane) matrix in the presence of tetramethyl-2-indanone or its sulfur analog. The free silylene was formed initially but it slowly reacted with the carbonyl (or thiocarbonyl) compound to give the complex, which can be formulated as a silacarbonyl ylide (Scheme 8). Further photolysis converted these ylide complexes to the silaoxirane or silathiirane, reversibly. 

Diketones often are protected as enol ethers or enamines and these selectively functionalized compounds may be subjected to complementary transformations (Scheme 94). Also silylenes can be prepared from diketones and -hydroxycarbonyl compounds by reaction with dimethyldicyanosilane. Naturally, these blocking groups are relatively sensitive to hydrolysis. On the other hand, partial solvolysis can open a route to monoprotected derivatives (e.g. 101), usually blocked at the sterically less demanding carbonyl function as 0-silyl cyanohydrins (see Scheme 95). Deprotection is finally achieved with silver fluoride in THF. 

Summary Some recent chemistry of the stable silylenes, (CHNtBu)2Si (1) and (CH2NtBu)2Si (2) is reported [1]. The X-ray crystal structure of 1 has finally been determined. Both silylenes react with transition metal carbonyls to displace CO and form silylene complexes. Complexes of 1 and 2 with Cr, Mo, W, Fe, Ru, and Ni have been prepared and studied structurally. Reactions of 1 and 2 with halocarbons yield either simple addition of the C-X bond to the silylene, or 2 1 silylene halocarbon products containing a Si-Si bond, depending on the halocarbon. Silylene 1 catalyzes the polymerization of nearly all compounds containing carboiHcarbon double or triple bonds. Possible mechanisms are proposed for several of the reactions described above. 

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