Various ruthenium silyl complexes of the type Cp*(Me3P)2RuSiR3 (Cp* = η5-C5Me5; SiR3
= SiCl3 (1), Si(NMe2)3 (2), Si(SEt)3 (3), Si(S-2-Naph)3 (4),
(5), Si(SCy)2Cl (6),
and Si(SMes)2Cl (7, Mes = 2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)) were prepared by the reaction of Cp*(Me3P)2RuCH2SiMe3 with the appropriate silane HSiR3. Compound 3 was converted to the
triflate Cp*(Me3P)2RuSi(SEt)2OTf (8) by the reaction of 3 with Me3SiOTf. Similar reactions
produced Cp*(Me3P)2RuSi(NMe2)2OTf (13), Cp*(Me3P)2RuSi(NMe2)(OTf)2 (14), Cp*(Me3P)2RuSi(SMes)2OTf (18), and Cp*(Me3P)2RuSi(SMes)(Cl)OTf (19). By NMR spectroscopy,
compound 8 in dichloromethane solution appears to possess a labile triflate group. Reactions
of the triflates 8 and Cp*(Me3P)2RuSi(S-p-Tol)2OTf (10) with NaBPh4 provided the silylene
complexes [Cp*(Me3P)2RuSi(SR)2][BPh4] (20, R = Et; 21, R = p-Tol). Similarly, the reaction
of 6 with NaBPh4 gave [Cp*(Me3P)2RuSi(SCy)2][BPh4] (22), and the reaction of 4 with B(C6F5)3
produced [Cp*(Me3P)2RuSi(S-2-Naph)2][MeB(C6F5)3] (23). Silylene complexes 20−23 display
characteristic 29Si NMR shifts in the region of δ 250−270. The non-heteroatom-stabilized
silylene complexes [Cp*(Me3P)2RuSiR2][B(C6F5)4] (24, R = Me; 25, R = Ph), obtained via
reactions of (Et2O)LiB(C6F5)4 with Cp*(Me3P)2RuSiR2OTf (11, R = Me; 12, R = Ph) exhibit
29Si NMR shifts around δ 300. The crystal structure of 24 revealed a Ru−Si distance of
2.238(2) Å, and the Cp*(centroid)−Ru−Si−Me dihedral angle is 34°. Compound 24 reacts
quantitatively with 1 equiv of PMe3 or PPh3 in dichloromethane-d
2 to form the base-stabilized
silylene complexes [Cp*(Me3P)2RuSiMe2(PR3)][B(C6F5)4] (28, R = Me; 29, R = Ph), identified
by 1H and 31P NMR spectroscopy. These complexes are thermally labile and decompose
with elimination of the dimethylsilylene fragment to give [Cp*(Me3P)2RuPR3][B(C6F5)4] (R
= Me, Ph). The ylide CH2PPh3 reacts with 24 to form [Cp*(Me3P)2RuSiMe2CH2PPh3][B(C6F5)4] (32a), and the characterization of [Cp*(Me3P)2RuSiMe2CH2PPh3][OTf] (32b) by
X-ray crystallography suggests that the complex is best viewed as a ruthenium silyl derivative
with the positive charge localized on the “ylide” phosphorus atom. Reactions of 20 and 24
with hydrogen proceed slowly and result in relatively complex product mixtures that contain
various ruthenium hydride species. The reaction involving 20 also produced HSi(SEt)3,
perhaps via redistribution of initially formed H2Si(SEt)2. For the reaction of 24 with
hydrogen, no H2SiMe2 was detected in the product mixture. The reaction of 20 with H3SiSiPh3 gave [Cp*(Me3P)2Ru(H)(SiH2SiPh3)][BPh4] (35) and HSi(SEt)3, and the corresponding
reaction of H3SiMes in dichloromethane gave [Cp*(Me3P)2RuHCl][BPh4] (34), BPh3, and H2SiMes(SEt), among other products. By NMR spectroscopy, the intermediate [Cp*(Me3P)2Ru(H)(SiH2Mes)][BPh4] (36) was observed for the latter process. Compound 36, generated
independently by reaction of [Cp*(Me3P)2Ru(NCMe)][BPh4] with H3SiMes, was shown to
react with HSi(SEt)3 to give H2SiMes(SEt).