A Disila[2]ferrocenophane with a Bridging 9,9'-Bi-9H-9-Silafluorene Moiety

A disila[2]ferrocenophane bearing a 9,9'-bi-9H-9-silafluorene (9-silafluorene dimer) moiety as a bridging unit was synthesized and isolated as a stable crystalline compound. Disila[2]ferrocenophane 1, newly obtained in this study, has been characterized by spectroscopic analyses, single crystal X-ray diffraction (SC-XRD) analysis, and electrochemical measurements. It was found that the obtained disila[2]ferrocenophane was reduced by a reducing agent to generate the corresponding 1,1'-ferrocenediyl-bis(silylanion) via the reductive Si-Si σ-bond cleavage. The trapping reactions of the 1,1'-ferrocenediyl-bis(silylanion) thus generated with electrophiles have also been attempted.