Pentasila-1,4-diene: Homoconjugation between Si═Si Double Bonds via a SiMe(2) Unit

Although the synthesis of several bis(disilenes) has already been reported, the number of reported conjugation modes between the Si═Si double bonds remains limited. Herein, we report the properties of the stable pentasila-1,4-diene 1, which was obtained from the reaction of two equivalents of disilenide 4 with dichlorodimethylsilane. The π(Si═Si)→π*(Si═Si) absorption band of 1 is considerably broadened and red-shifted compared to those of the corresponding monodisilene and hexasila-1,5-diene, but blue-shifted relative to those of typical tetrasila-1,3-dienes. The bathochromic shift and the broadening of the absorption band in 1 should be attributed to the homoconjugation between Si═Si double bonds through the SiMe₂ unit.