Reactivity of an N-heterocyclic silylene with a 1,1′-ferrocenediyl backbone towards carbonyl compounds, including carbon suboxide

Abstract

Reactions of a silylene with a ketene and with carbon suboxide are reported, respectively leading to the first silaallene oxide and to a silylketene, whose reaction with water affords the first structurally characterised stable methyleneketene and constitutes a unique type of single-crystal-to-single-crystal transformation of a molecular solid by a stoichiometric gas–solid chemical reaction.