Access to Bis-Silylene-Stabilized Group 13 Cations.

Area of Science:

• Organometallic Chemistry
• Main Group Chemistry
• Coordination Chemistry

Background:

• Silicon-based ligands are gaining attention in coordination chemistry.
• Pincer ligands offer unique coordination environments.
• Group 13 elements (e.g., aluminum, gallium, indium) exhibit diverse chemical behaviors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize a novel pyridine moiety-functionalized SiNSi pincer-based bis-silylene ligand.
• To investigate the reactivity of this ligand with group 13 halide precursors.
• To explore the formation and properties of novel group 13 cations stabilized by the SiNSi pincer ligand.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of the SiNSi pincer-based bis-silylene ligand.
• Reactions with group 13 bromide and iodide precursors.
• Characterization using single-crystal X-ray diffraction, multinuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy (1H, 13C, 29Si), and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS).
• Quantum chemical calculations for electronic property analysis.

Main Results:

• Isolation of the pyridine moiety-functionalized SiNSi pincer-based bis-silylene ligand.
• Successful synthesis of group 13 cations (Al, Ga, In) coordinated by the SiNSi pincer ligand.
• Structural confirmation of the resulting complexes via X-ray diffraction.
• Detailed spectroscopic and computational analysis of the new compounds.

Conclusions:

• The study successfully demonstrates the utility of SiNSi pincer ligands in stabilizing group 13 cations.
• This work expands the scope of ligand design for main group element coordination chemistry.
• The findings contribute to a better understanding of bonding and electronic properties in these novel organometallic complexes.