Silylium species

Gevorgyan and coworkers have reported a highly trans-selective hydrosilylation of alkenes promoted by tris(pentafiuorophenyl)borane (Equation 82) [85]. This method operates via direct addition of silylium species (134) across the carbon-carbon double bond, followed by trapping of the resulting carbenium ion (135) by the boron bound hydride from the least hindered direction. 

When the counterion is complex, for example metal-halogen anions such as BF4-, the most electronegative portion of the counterion becomes attached to the silicon center. Because of this attachment, it is natural to consider the intermediacy of a silicenium cation (silylium or silylenium ion) intermediate in such reactions (Eq. 4). Bond energies derived from electron impact studies indicate that Eq. 4 is exothermic in the gas phase by about 8 kcal/mol.26,29 There seems little doubt that trivalent silicon-centered cationic species do exist in the gas phase30,31 or that processes similar to that shown in Eq. 4 do occur there.32,33... 

Several reviews appeared on the heavier congeners of the carbenium ions. Clearly, the silylium ion problem has received the most attention, and both theoretical as well as experimental aspects have been reviewed. The chemistry of cationic germanium, tin and lead is covered by a recent review by Zharov and Michl. We will concentrate in this review on the description of the progress made during the last 4 years and will try to give an account on the synthesis, the properties and the structure of organosubstituted three-coordinated, tiivalent group 14 element cations and closely related species in the condensed phase. 

NMR Spectroscopic Data of Silylium Ions and Related Species... 

Silylium ions, which are not protected sterically or are not stabilized either electronically or by intramolecular interaction with a remote substituent do interact strongly with the solvent and/or the counteranion. The reaction of the transient silylium ion with solvents like ethers, nitriles and even aromatic hydrocarbons lead to oxonium, nitrilium and arenium ions with a tetrahedral environment for the silicon atom. These new cationic species can be clearly identified by their characteristic Si NMR chemical shifts. That is, the oxonium salt [Me3SiOEt2] TFPB is characterized by S Si = 66.9 in CD2CI2 solution at —70°C. " Similar chemical shifts are found for related silylated oxonium ions. Nitrilium ions formed by the reaction of intermediate trialkyl silylium ions with nitriles are identified by Si NMR chemical shifts S Si = 30—40 (see also Table VI for some examples). Trialkyl-substituted silylium ions generated in benzene solution yield silylated benzenium ions, which can be easily detected by a silicon NMR resonance at 8 Si = 90—100 (see Table VI). ... 

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