Themed collection Silicon Chemistry: Discoveries and Advances

Welcome to this themed issue of Dalton Transactions entitled: ‘Silicon Chemistry: Discoveries and Advances.’

A mild, selective and facile synthesis of vinylsilanes via a recyclable platinum nanoparticle catalysed hydrosilylation of alkynes is reported.

The X-ray crystallography showed that the structures of the silyl-substituted borates are affected by the alkoxy groups.

Ruthenium and iron complexes featuring a MSi₂H four-centre bonding interaction were synthesized and the interaction was evaluated experimentally and theoretically.

A platinum(0) complex bearing a cyclic (alkyl)(amino)silylene and a 1,3-divinyl-1,1,3,3-tetramethyldisiloxane (DVTMS) was synthesized and isolated in the form of colorless crystals.

The reactivity of N-heterocyclic silylene [PhC(NtBu)₂](C₅Me₅)Si towards main group elements and transition metals was evaluated.

A series of organodichlorosilanes RR′SiCl₂ (R,R′ = (CH₂)₃; (CH₂)₄; (CH₂)₅; Me,Me; Me,H; Me,Cl) was studied by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses.

Macroporous magnesium silicide monoliths were prepared by a two-step magnesiothermic reaction starting from hierarchically structured silica with silicon as an intermediate step.

Rh and Ir coordination of phosphines with 1 to 3 Si–H groups.

Electrochemical oxidation of phenyl silatrane provides persistent radical cations with an unpaired electron mostly localized on the atrane nitrogen.

SiSi transfer to bulky (poly)aromatic substrates is described. Some products show intermolecular charge transfer bands and weak fluorescence.

An unusually wide variety of new sidechains are introduced at a polysilane through chemoselective catalytic hydrosilation, heterodehydrocoupling, and demethanative coupling.

Flexible inorganic–organic silica aerogels based on methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS, CH₃Si(OCH₃)₃) can overcome the drawbacks of conventional silica aerogels by introducing high mechanical strength, elastic recovery and hydrophobicity to monolithic materials.

In vitro studies into the interaction of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) trisilanols with porcine and human red blood cells (erythrocytes), and mouse fibroblasts with is reported.

Traditional electrophilic bromination follows long established “rules”: electron-withdrawing substituents cause bromination selective for meta positions, whereas electron-donating substituents favor ortho and para bromination.

Vanadium nitride–silicon nitride nanocomposites from triflate-catalysed co-ammonolysis are active for CO_x-free H₂ production from methane.

The flexibility of σ-conjugated silanes presents new opportunities for controlling charge transfer via changes in molecular conformation.

A one-pot synthesis of (tBu₃SiO)(Me₃SiO)CN-SitBu₃ and (tBu₃SiO)CONH₂ was achieved by the reaction of Na[SitBu₃] with Me₃SiN₃ and subsequent CO₂ treatment.

Aromaticity of carbene analogues of the type C₆H₄(NR)₂E: (E = C–Pb) has been established by Raman, UV-vis, ISE, NICS and ACID methods.

When silylene transfer reactions are irreversible, the steric hinderance of the alkene and ligands on the metal catalyst does not influence stereoselectivity, but when the reaction is reversible (above), silyene transfer reactions can be diastereoselective.

Hydrolytic oxidation of dihydrosilanes with water in acetonitrile with 0.1 mol% of NHC produced hydrogen gas and cyclosiloxanes in excellent yields.

The paper describes three methods for the preparation of methoxysiloxide complexes, a rare class of complexes of relevance to room temperature vulcanization (RTV) of polysiloxanes.

Water soluble gold nanoparticles have been isolated with pendant cationic carbosilane dendrons and their biological properties have been evaluated.

A series of disila-crown ether complexes have been characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction. The complex stability of different systems were studied by DFT calculations and proton NMR experiments.

The first six-coordinate bis(dithiocarbamato)silicon(IV) complexes, compounds 3 and 4 with their unprecedented SiCl₂S₄ skeleton, were synthesised and structurally characterised.