New Strategies towards Bulky Bis(alkyl)- and Bis(silyl)- Substituted Polysilanes as Precursor Molecules for Desilylation and Dechlorination Experiments

Herein we report on a series of bulky bis(alkyl)- and bis(silyl)- substituted polysilanes. Moreover, we performed desilylation and dechlorination experiments with them. These compounds were characterized by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and X-ray crystallography. It was found that the selective formation of silyl mono- and di-anions is crucial for the successful isolation of these polysilanes. Moreover, we utilized a multiple silyl abstraction methodology to obtain the spiro-compounds 6 and 8. The latter was tested as a precursor molecule for the synthesis of bis(silyl)silylenes.