Silylchalcogenolates MESiR(t)Bu(2) (M = Na, Cu, Zn, Fe; E = S, Se, Te; R = tBu, Ph) and disilyldichalcogenides tBu2RSiE-ESiRtBu2 (E = S, Se, Te; R = tBu, Ph): synthesis, properties, and structures.

The sodium silyl chalcogenolates NaESiR(t)Bu(2) (R = Ph, (t)Bu; E = S, Se, Te), accessible by the nucleophilic degradation of S, Se, or Te by the sodium silanides NaSiR(t)Bu(2) (R = Ph, (t)Bu), have been characterized by X-ray structure analysis. Protonolysis of the sodium silyl chalcogenolates yields the corresponding chalcogenols. The Cu and Zn chalcogenolates, [Cu(SSiPh(t)Bu(2))](4) and [ZnCl(SSi(t)Bu(3))(THF)](2), have been synthesized by metathesis reactions of CuCl with NaSSiPh(t)Bu(2) and of ZnCl(2) with NaSSi(t)Bu(3), respectively. The solid-state structures of the transition metal thiolates have been determined. The compounds (t)Bu(2)RSiE-ESiR(t)Bu(2) (R = Ph, (t)Bu; E = S, Se, Te) are accessible via air oxidation. With the exception of (t)Bu(3)SiS-SSi(t)Bu(3), these compounds were analyzed using X-ray crystallography and represent the first structurally characterized silylated heavy dichalcogenides. Oxidative addition of (t)Bu(3)SiTe-TeSi(t)Bu(3) to Fe(CO)(5) yields [Fe(TeSi(t)Bu(3))(CO)(3)](2), which has also been structurally characterized.