Silylene extrusion from silanes: Direct conversion of R2SiH2 to iridium silylene dihydride complexes

Abstract

Silylene complexes, the silicon analogues of carbene complexes, feature three-coordinate, divalent silicon bound to a metal (R_2Si=ML_n). Significant advances in the preparation of these highly electrophilic species have been made in our laboritories over the past decade including, most recently, the preparation of the first iridium silylene complex as a zwitterion: [PhB(CH_2PPh_2)_3]lr(H)(eta-3-C_8H_(13)) + Mes_2SiH_2-[PhB(CH_2PPh_2)_3](H)_2lr=SiMes_2.

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