Org. Synth. 1992, 70, 164
DOI: 10.15227/orgsyn.070.0164
TRIS(TRIMETHYLSILYL)SILANE
[Trisilane, 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexamethyl-2-(trimethylsilyl)-]
Submitted by Joachim Dickhaut and Bernd Giese
1.
Checked by George A. O'Doherty and Leo A. Paquette.
1. Procedure
Lithium powder (7.55 g, 1.07 mol) is placed in a 500-mL, four-necked flask equipped with a condenser, mechanical stirrer, dropping funnel, and low-temperature thermometer (Note 1) and (Note 2). The apparatus is carefully flushed several times with nitrogen followed by the addition of 50 mL of anhydrous tetrahydrofuran (THF). The reaction flask is cooled to approximately −60°C in a dry ice-acetone bath, and a mixture of freshly distilled (from CaH2) chlorotrimethylsilane (54.8 mL, 47.1 g, 0.43 mol) and tetrachlorosilane (Note 3) (10.1 mL, 15.0 g, 0.09 mol) in 140 mL of anhydrous THF is added over 1 hr by dropping funnel so that the temperature of the reaction mixture never exceeds −30°C. After addition is complete, stirring is continued for 0.5 hr with cooling (Note 4). The gold-brown suspension is allowed to warm to room temperature and stirred for 12 hr, during which time the color becomes more intense (Note 5). The thermometer is removed and the mixture is heated to reflux for 2 hr to destroy the remaining chlorotrimethylsilane. After the condenser is cooled to room temperature, it is replaced with a nitrogen bubbler and gas inlet. Methyllithium-lithium bromide complex (66 mL, 99 mmol, 1.5 M in ether) is added over 3 hr to the grey-brown mixture with vigorous stirring (Note 6). During the addition a continuous stream of nitrogen is bubbled through the reaction mixture. After the reaction mixture is stirred for an additional 16 hr at room temperature, it acquires a greenish tint. Hydrolysis is carried out by the careful addition of the reaction mixture to 400 mL of ice-cold 2 N hydrochloric acid. [CAUTION: The solid residue may be highly pyrophoric. The checkers blanketed the flask with argon prior to the introduction of ether (100 mL) and poured the vigorously stirred slurry into the cold hydrochloric acid. This rinse procedure was repeated twice more.] The aqueous phase is extracted four times with 200-mL portions of pentane, the combined organic phases are dried over magnesium sulfate and the solvents removed under reduced pressure. Distillation under reduced pressure (1 mm, 38°C) affords 13.4–17.2 g of the product as a clear oil (60–77% yield).
2. Notes
1.
The checkers used a
three-necked flask having one arm equipped with a Claisen head.
2.
All reagents were purchased from Fluka Chemical Corporation, except the
methyllithium-lithium bromide complex, which was purchased from Aldrich Chemical Company, Inc., and were used without further purification. The
lithium powder can be weighed in air; however, the use of a dust mask is recommended.
3.
As
tetrachlorosilane smokes strongly when exposed to air, introduction to the addition funnel is best carried out using a syringe.
4.
If the temperature falls below −60°C, the mixture may solidify, but returns to a liquid upon warming.
5.
The synthesis should be carried out over three days, stirring the mixture overnight. The stirring times reported should be considered a minimum, and need not be followed exactly.
6.
A
clean dropping funnel should be used for the addition of the
methyllithium solution, and should be filled with rigorous exclusion of air. It is simpler to employ a
syringe pump, and replace the dropping funnel with a
septum. In this case the stream of
nitrogen can be introduced by a needle through the septum.
Handling and Disposal of Hazardous Chemicals
The procedures in this article are intended for use only by persons with prior training in experimental organic chemistry. All hazardous materials should be handled using the standard procedures for work with chemicals described in references such as "Prudent Practices in the Laboratory" (The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2011 www.nap.edu). All chemical waste should be disposed of in accordance with local regulations. For general guidelines for the management of chemical waste, see Chapter 8 of Prudent Practices.
These procedures must be conducted at one's own risk. Organic Syntheses, Inc., its Editors, and its Board of Directors do not warrant or guarantee the safety of individuals using these procedures and hereby disclaim any liability for any injuries or damages claimed to have resulted from or related in any way to the procedures herein.
3. Discussion
Tris(trimethylsilyl)silane 1 can be substituted for toxic stannanes like
tributyl-stannane 2 in organic syntheses which involve radicals,
2 because: a) silyl radicals are as efficient as stannyl radicals in the radical-forming step,
3 and b) the Si-H bond strength in
tris(trimethylsilyl)silane 1 is only slightly higher than the Sn-H bond strength in
tributylstannane 2.
4
Bond energy (kcal/mol):
Thus, heating a mixture of an organic bromide or iodide with equimolar amounts of silane
1 and catalytic amounts of a radical initiator like
azobisisobutyronitrile gives organic radicals
3 that can undergo addition, cyclization or rearrangement reactions
2 (
3 → 4) before
hydrogen abstraction
5 yields the product.
Tris(trimethylsilyl)silane 1is a mediator in this reaction. In contrast to the reported method,
6 the synthesis described in this procedure gives silane
1 in high yields in a one-pot reaction.
Appendix
Chemical Abstracts Nomenclature (Collective Index Number);
(Registry Number)
hydrochloric acid (7647-01-0)
ether (60-29-7)
hydrogen (1333-74-0)
nitrogen (7727-37-9)
Pentane (109-66-0)
lithium (7439-93-2)
magnesium sulfate (7487-88-9)
Tetrahydrofuran (109-99-9)
Methyllithium (917-54-4)
argon (7440-37-1)
tributylstannane,
tributyl-stannane (688-73-3)
tetrachlorosilane (10026-04-7)
CHLOROTRIMETHYLSILANE (75-77-4)
Methyllithium-lithium bromide (332360-06-2)
azobisisobutyronitrile (78-67-1)
Tris(trimethylsilyl)silane,
Trisilane, 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexamethyl-2-(trimethylsilyl)- (1873-77-4)
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