Ylenes in the M(II)→Si(IV) (M=Si, Ge, Sn) coordination mode.

The reaction of the methimazolyl (mt, i.e., 2-mercapto-1-methylimidazolide) substituted silane Si(mt)(4) with SnCl(2) and GeCl(2) in dioxane affords the paddlewheel-shaped complexes [ClSi(μ-mt)(4)MCl] (M=Sn (1) and Ge (2), respectively). These compounds represent the first crystallographically characterized hexacoordinate silicon complexes comprising a Sn or Ge atom in the Si coordination sphere. An attempt to synthesize the related silicon compound 3 [ClSi(μ-mt)(4)SiCl] instead afforded the trisilane [ClSi(μ-mt)(4)Si-SiCl(3)] (3a), which provides the first crystallographic evidence for the feasibility of oligosilanes with adjacent hexacoordinate Si atoms. One of the hexacoordinate Si atoms of 3a features the unprecedented (Si(2)S(4))Si skeleton. Natural bonding orbital (NBO) analyses of compounds 1, 2, 3a (and the target compound 3) revealed characteristics of M(II)→Si(IV) (for 2 and 3) or M(I)→Si(IV) (for 3a) dative bonding in the systems with M=Si and Ge, whereas compound 1 exhibits a covalent Sn(III)-Si(III) bond.