Silicon analogues of unsaturated hydrocarbons

Abstract

The proposed communication demonstrates the efforts of researchers undertaken to prove the existence of fundamental analogies in the chemistry of structurally related compounds of carbon and silicon. Stable silicon analogues of ethylene - silenes or silaethylenes R2C=SiR2 - were obtained in 1979, disilynes R2Si=SiR2 - in 1981, and analogues of ethine or acetylene - disilins RSi≡SiR - only in 2004. Moving towards the intended goals, scientists synthesized a number of unique branched (bulky) organic and organosilicon substituents, attached them to silicon atoms, closed them from the action of oxygen and air moisture, and prevented secondary dimerization (oligomerization) reactions. The created steric protection led to the preparation of kinetically stable unsaturated silicon compounds and made it possible to characterize them by IR, NMR, UV-visible spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction analysis.