We report the use of 29 Si NMR spectroscopy and DFT calculations combined to benchmark the covalency in the chemical bonding of s-and f-block metal−silicon bonds. The complexes [M(Si t Bu 3 ) 2 (THF) 2 (THF) x ] (1-M: M = Mg, Ca, Yb, x = 0; M = Sm, Eu, x = 1) and [M(Si t Bu 2 Me) 2 (THF) 2 (THF) x ] (2-M: M = Mg, x = 0; M = Ca, Sm, Eu, Yb, x = 1) have been synthesized and characterized. DFT calculations and 29 Si NMR spectroscopic analyses of 1-M and 2-M (M = Mg, Ca, Yb, No, the last in silico due to experimental unavailability) together with known {Si(SiMe 3 ) 3 } − -, {Si(SiMe 2 H) 3 } − -, and {SiPh 3 } − -substituted analogues provide 20 representative examples spanning five silanide ligands and four divalent metals, revealing that the metal-bound 29 Si NMR isotropic chemical shifts, δ Si , span a wide (∼225 ppm) range when the metal is kept constant, and direct, linear correlations are found between δ Si and computed delocalization indices and quantum chemical topology interatomic exchange-correlation energies that are measures of bond covalency. The calculations reveal dominant s-and d-orbital character in the bonding of these silanide complexes, with no significant f-orbital contributions. The δ Si is determined, relatively, by paramagnetic shielding for a given metal when the silanide is varied but by the spin−orbit shielding term when the metal is varied for a given ligand. The calculations suggest a covalency ordering of No(II) > Yb(II) > Ca(II) ≈ Mg(II), challenging the traditional view of late actinide chemical bonding being equivalent to that of the late lanthanides.
