The bulky Eind-based aryllithium, (Eind)Li (Eind = 1,1,3,3,5,5,7,7-octaethyl-s-hydrindacen-4-yl), reacted with BF3·OEt2 in Et2O to form the corresponding aryldifluoroborane (Eind)­BF2 (1), along with a trace amount of the sterically congested diarylborane, (Eind)2BH (2). The reaction of 1 with LiAlH4 in THF led to the isolation of the corresponding lithium trihydroborate [Li­(thf)]2[(Eind)­BH3]2 (3), which can be transformed into the diborane(6), (Eind)­HB­(μ-H)2BH­(Eind) (4), with treatment with Me3SiCl. The Eind-based lithium trihydroaluminate [Li­(OEt2)]2[(Eind)­AlH3]2 (5) has been synthesized by the reaction of (Eind)Li with LiAlH4 in Et2O. The subsequent addition of Me3SiCl to a solution of 5 in toluene produced the dialumane(6), (Eind)­HAl­(μ-H)2AlH­(Eind) (6), the heavier congener of 4. The dialumane(6) 6 reacted with lithium metal in a mixed solvent of Et2O and toluene to give the diarylalumane, (Eind)2AlH (7), via a disproportionation reaction along with the cleavage and recombination of the Al–C bond. The discrete monomeric structures of 1, 2, and 7 and dimeric structures of 3, 4, 5, and 6 have been determined by X-ray crystallography.

The reaction of the bulky diphosphenes (Rind)P=P(Rind) (1; Rind=1,1,3,3,5,5,7,7‐octa‐R‐substituted s‐hydrindacen‐4‐yl) with two molecules of N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC; 1,3,4,5‐tetramethylimidazol‐2‐ylidene) resulted in the quantitative formation of the NHC‐bound phosphinidenes NHC→P(Rind) (2), along with the cleavage of the P=P double bond. The reaction times are dependent on the steric size of the Rind groups (11 days for 2 a (R=Et) and 2 h for 2 b (R=Et, Me) at room temperature). The mechanism for the double bond‐breaking is proposed to proceed via the formation of the NHC‐coordinated, highly polarized diphospehenes 3 as an intermediate. Approach of a second NHC to 3 induces P−P bond cleavage and P−C bond formation, which proceeds through a transition state with a large negative Gibbs energy change to afford the two molecules of 2, thus being the rate‐determining step of the overall reaction with the activation barriers of 80.4 for 2 a and 29.1 kJ mol−1 for 2 b.

Abstract:The reactions of the fused-ring bulky Eind-substituted 1,2-dibromodisilene, (Eind)BrSi=SiBr(Eind) (1a) (Eind = 1,1,3,3,5,5,7,7-octaethyl-s-hydrindacen-4-yl (a)), with N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) (Im-Me 4 = 1,3,4,5-tetramethylimidazol-2-ylidene and Im-i Pr 2 Me 2 = 1,3-diisopropyl-4,5-dimethylimidazol-2-ylidene) are reported. While the reaction of 1a with the sterically more demanding Im-i Pr 2 Me 2 led to the formation of the mono-NHC adduct of arylbromosilylene, (Im-i Pr 2 Me 2 )→SiBr(Eind) (2a ), a similar reaction using the less bulky Im-Me 4 affords the bis-NHC adduct of formal arylsilyliumylidene cation, [(Im-Me 4 ) 2 →Si(Eind)] + [Br − ] (3a). The NHC adducts 2a and 3a can also be prepared by the dehydrobromination of Eind-substituted dibromohydrosilane, (Eind)SiHBr 2 (4a), with NHCs. The NHC-coordinated silicon compounds have been characterized by spectroscopic methods. The molecular structures of bis-NHC adduct, [(Im-i Pr 2 Me 2 ) 2 →Si(Eind)] + [Br − ] (3a ), and 4a have been determined by X-ray crystallography.

The reaction of the bulky diphosphenes (Rind)P=P(Rind) (1; Rind=1,1,3,3,5,5,7,7-octa-R-substituted s-hydrindacen-4-yl) with two molecules of N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC; 1,3,4,5-tetramethylimidazol-2-ylidene) resulted in the quantitative formation of the NHC-bound phosphinidenes NHC→P(Rind) (2), along with the cleavage of the P=P double bond. The reaction times are dependent on the steric size of the Rind groups (11 days for 2 a (R=Et) and 2 h for 2 b (R=Et, Me) at room temperature). The mechanism for the double bond-breaking is proposed to proceed via the formation of the NHC-coordinated, highly polarized diphospehenes 3 as an intermediate. Approach of a second NHC to 3 induces P-P bond cleavage and P-C bond formation, which proceeds through a transition state with a large negative Gibbs energy change to afford the two molecules of 2, thus being the rate-determining step of the overall reaction with the activation barriers of 80.4 for 2 a and 29.1 kJ mol for 2 b.