title: A stable bicyclic compound with two Si=Si double bonds.
abstract: In contrast to carbon, silicon does not readily form double bonds, and compounds containing silicon-silicon double bonds can usually be stabilized only by protection with bulky substituents. We have isolated a silicon analog of spiropentadiene 1, a carbon double-ring compound that has not been isolated to date. In the crystal structure of tetrakis[tri(t-butyldimethylsilyl)silyl]spiropentasiladiene 2, a substantial deviation from the perpendicular arrangement of the two rings is observed, and the silicon-silicon double bonds are shown to be distorted. Spectroscopic data indicate pronounced interaction between two remote silicon-silicon double bonds in the molecule. Silicon-silicon bonds may be more accessible to synthesis than previously assumed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8578, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Iwamoto
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tamura
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kabuto
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kira