Steering S-H and N-H Bond Activation by a Stable N-Heterocyclic Silylene: Different Addition of H2S, NH3, and Organoamines on a Silicon(II) Ligand versus Its Si(II)→Ni(CO)3 Complex

The strikingly different behavior of the ylide-like, N-heterocyclic silylene LSi: (5: L = CH[(C=CH2)CMe(NAr)(2)]; Ar = 2,6-(PrC6H3)-Pr-i) versus its LSi -> Ni(CO)(3) complex 13 to activate E-H bonds (E = S, N) of small molecules is reported. Remarkably, conversion of 5 with hydrogen sulfide leads exclusively to the first isolable silathioformamide, L'Si(=S)H (16: L' = CH[C(Me)NAr](2); Ar = 2,6-iPrC(6)H(3)) with a donor-supported Si=S double bond and four-coordinate silicon. The latter result demonstrates the unusual ambivalent reactivity of 5 by combining two modes of reactivity involving S-H bond activation and subsequent 1,4- and 1,1-addition, respectively. In addition, 5 can serve as a ligand with well-balanced sigma-donor and pi-acceptor capabilities toward transition metals. This has been demonstrated by the isolable [Ni-0(arene)] complexes 12a-e (arene = MenC6H6-n, n = 0-3), which are ideal precursors for the formation of the corresponding Ni(CO)(3) complex 13. The latter activates a S-H bond in hydrogen sulfide, too, but the presence of the Ni(CO)(3) moiety governs the formation of the complex 17, bearing an unprecedented beta-diketiminate silicon(II) thiol ligand: L'Si(SH): (L' = CH[C(Me)NAr](2); Ar 2,6-(PrC6H3)-Pr-i). Likewise, the Si(II)-> Ni(CO)(3) coordination in 13 steers exclusively 1,4-addition of ammonia, isopropylamine, and phenylhydrazine onto the silylene ligand 5, leading to the corresponding beta-diketiminate silicon(II) amide or hydrazide complexes L'Si(NHR)-> Ni(CO)(3) (23a-c: R = H, Pr-i, N(H)Ph). IR measurements reveal that the carbonyl stretching frequencies of the Ni(CO)(3) moiety in 23a-c are shifted to even lower wavenumbers in comparison to those of NHCs or phosphines. In other words, the beta-diketiminate silicon(II) amide ligands in 23a-c represent the strongest donors in the series of N-heterocyclic silylenes reported as yet.