Zinc-silylene complexes

Reactions of the chlorosilylene [PhC(N(t)Bu)2]SiCl (SiCl) and the aryl and alkyl zincorganyls Zn(C5Me5)2, ZnPh2 and ZnEt2 resulted in the first Zn-silylene complexes. In all reactions the chlorine atom of the silylene and organic groups of the zinc atom are exchanged. By using Zn(C5Me5)2 and ZnPh2 one of the newly formed silylene coordinates to the zinc atom to give [PhC(N(t)Bu)2(η(1)-C5Me5)Si-Zn(η(2)-C5Me5)Cl] and [PhC(N(t)Bu)2PhSi-ZnPh(μ-Cl)]2, respectively. In contrast, the reaction of SiCl with ZnEt2 resulted due the reduced steric demand of the silylene in the disilylene complex [PhC(N(t)Bu)2SiEt]2ZnCl2, in which both ethyl-moieties are exchanged by chlorides and two newly formed ethyl-silylenes coordinate to the zinc atom.