Dialkylboryl-Substituted Cyclic Disilenes Synthesized by Desilylation-Borylation of Trimethylsilyl-Substituted Disilenes

π-Electron systems of silicon have attracted attention because of their narrow HOMO-LUMO gap and high reactivity, but the structural diversity remains limited. Herein, new dialkylboryl-substituted disilenes were synthesized by the selective desilylation-borylation of the corresponding trimethylsilyl-substituted disilenes. The dialkylboryl-substituted disilenes were fully characterized by a combination of NMR spectroscopy, MS spectrometry, single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis, and theoretical calculations. The longest-wavelength absorption bands of boryldisilenes were bathochromically shifted compared to the corresponding silyl-substituted disilenes, indicating a substantial conjugation between π(Si=Si) and vacant 2p(B) orbitals. In the presence of 4-(dimethylamino)pyridine (DMAP), the dialkylboryl groups in the boryl-substituted disilenes were easily converted to trimethylsilyl groups, suggesting the dialkylboryl-substituted disilenes in the presence of a base serve as the surrogates of disilenyl anions (disilenides).

New cyclic and spirocyclic aminosilanes

New cyclic and spirocyclic aminosilanes were synthesised using ethylenediamine, 2-aminobenzylamine, 1,8-diaminonaphthalene, o-phenylenediamine, and trans-cyclohexane-1,2-diamine as starting material. These diamines were converted into aminosilanes using silicon tetrachloride and dimethyldichlorosilane directly and via the N,N’-bis(trimethylsilylated) amino derivatives. 15 new compounds of the type (diamino)(SiMe3)2, (diamino)2Si, (diamino)SiMe2, and (diamino)SiCl2 have been prepared. The formation of two cyclotrisilazane derivatives was observed starting from (N,N’-2-aminobenzylamino)dichlorosilane by trimerisation. All synthesised compounds have been characterised with NMR-, Raman-, or IR-spectroscopy, mass-spectrometry, and boiling or melting point. Single-crystal X-ray structure analyses of several derivatives have been performed. The degree of substitution with trimethylsilyl groups in the final compounds depends on the ring size of the spirocycles. It was shown with quantum chemical calculations on the M062X/6-31G(d) level that trimethylsilyl groups have a stabilising effect on 5-membered ring systems and a destabilising effect on 6-membered rings in these compounds.

Synthesis of a Contrapositionally Substituted Cyclohexa-meta-phenylene: A Ready-to-Use Precursor for Cyclohexa-meta-phenylene-Based Materials

A contrapositionally substituted derivative of cyclohexa-meta-phenylene ([6]CMP) was synthesized by an intramolecular Yamamoto coupling reaction of an appropriate terphenyl unit containing a trimethylsilyl substituent. Iododesilylation of the trimethylsilyl groups of the product with iodine monochloride was used to incorporate iodo groups, an important functionality for metal-catalyzed coupling reactions. The iodo groups were also converted into a (pinacolato)boryl groups, another important functionality for coupling reactions. The diborylated [6]CMP is expected to be a versatile potential comonomer and a precursor for the synthesis of CMP-based materials. The synthetic route to the disubstituted [6]CMP included lithiation, Pd-catalyzed borylation, Suzuki coupling, and Yamamoto coupling. The structure of the product was established by NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry.