An isolable dialkylsilylene and its derivatives. A step toward comprehension of heavy unsaturated bonds

Abstract

Synthesis and structural characteristics of an isolable dialkylsilylene and its application for the synthesis of unique silicon unsaturated compounds such as silanechalcogenones, silaketenimines, a tetrasila-1,3-diene and a trisilaallene are discussed. Because the silylene has no aromatic or alkenyl substituents, the derivatives are mostly free from the influence of the π-conjugative substituents, and hence, are suitable for exploring the intrinsic or standard characteristics of the unsaturated bonds. Using perturbation molecular orbital (PMO) theory, the importance of π–σ* mixing is emphasized to figure out the key issues of heavy unsaturated bonds.