Isolation of a Cyclopentasilane from Magnesium Reduction of a Linear Hexasilane
The reductive cyclization of two linear hexasilanes is contrasted, where a methylated precursor yielded a cyclohexasilane while the tert-butyl-functionalized analog unexpectedly yielded a cyclopentasilane. A comprehensive analysis using X-ray diffraction, IR, HR, HRMS, and multinuclear (1H, 13C and 29Si) 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy identified the 1,2-dihydrodisilane tBuPhHSi–SiHPhtBu as an additional product, which was interpreted as supportive of a mechanism involving silylene elimination. Here, the results of this study may prove informative about substituent effects in the practice of complex organosilicon molecular synthesis.