We
report herein a Pd(II)-catalyzed oxidative coupling reaction
of dibenzosiloles with aryl diazoacetates via a metal
carbene migratory insertion process. In this reaction, carbenic carbon
formally displaces silicon atoms through continuous cleavage of two
C(sp2)–Si bonds and successive formation of two
C(sp2)–C(sp3) bonds on a carbenic carbon.
Density functional theory (DFT) studies reveal that the reaction proceeds
through a Pd(II)/Pd(IV) catalytic cycle, in which the two C–Si
bonds are cleaved by two successive oxidative addition/reductive elimination
processes rather than traditional transmetalation steps. Additive o-chloranil was necessary for this reaction, which significantly
facilitated the reaction by acting as both a ligand and an oxidant,
and it played different roles in different reaction stages.